The return of a lost little lamb

We had our first encounter with DCP on Wednesday. I hope to NEVER have them in my home again!

Karys escaped whilst the boys were playing on the trampoline and Lotty had gone to the loo. She headed for the park and ran out in front of a car. The man took her to his home where his wife took care of her and they called the police to report a found child. This must have happened in a reasonably short space of time as Lotty, Bradd and Pipa could not find her at the park when they went to search for her.

Lotty and Bradd continued their search to the primary school as Karys had mentioned earlier that she was going to school today. Lotty phoned Ingrid who was with me to let her know what was happening. (We had been to take Ingrid's resume to Murdoch Uni for a possible job in the library and get fuel and milk.) We were almost home at that point and I saw the policeman at the park as we passed by. We did another quick check around the house and then I phoned the police.

The man I spoke to was quite helpful though he told me that missing persons reports should be done at the station, but given that she was a 3yr old, he could do it over the phone! :/ I continued giving details as I walked through the house and I went out the front to check again and met a policeman coming up the driveway! I asked the man on the phone if he'd sent police yet and he hadn't, so we discontinued the report, as the one in front of me said he'd been deployed in response to a found child.

I followed him back to the house where Karys was, though it took a awhile as he couldn't remember exactly where and we wandered around a bit. He was quite perturbed that I'd gone out and left a 3yr old home alone and his line of questioning was quite intense and I was very defensive. She was found wearing only a shirt, a nappy and gumboots and was carrying a lighter! He explained that as no one had reported her missing within 30 mins of her being found, DCP had been called.

He asked how many kids I had, had to repeat it as he was shocked, and then if I'd thought about getting some help to look after them. I asked him what kind of help he thought I needed and he replied DCP. I just looked at him, shocked, and told him I didn't need any help.

By the time we found the right house, he'd realized that she wasn't neglected and that I was quite upset. He asked if I was ok and I replied, fine thanks! But I had to breath deep and slow to keep in control. I wasn't going to cry in front of him, I was too angry with a situation that I had no control over and I could see was only going to get worse.

Karys was happy to see me and showed me all the treasures she'd accumulated from the nice lady. She had a purple bow tied around her arm and a little pink handbag. She was carrying a bucket of babushka dolls which I made her put back. She'd had a vegemite sandwich and drink too. The second policeman told the first one that the lady had changed Karys' nappy and put Amolin on her. I explained that she had a rash as she keeps putting on nappies at odd times when she doesn't normally wear them and it was irritating her skin.

By this time, the man had returned from his relies who had some larger nappies and some track pants for her to wear. So we said thanks to them and headed home. Before we left, the 2nd cop said that she was a talkative little thing and very cute. He would've liked to take her home. I would've liked to say he could, but thought better of it. He also informed me that DCP were on their way and would meet us back at our house. :/ So I walked home as briskly as I could, holding tight to her hand. She got tired when we were nearly home so I carried her the rest of the way.

I saw Jacquie waiting out the front as we turned the corner into our street and I signalled her to come to me. It took a few goes before she understood and then she ran to me. I didn't trust my voice to shout and I didn't want to shout it out to the neighbours anyway. I told her to get the others to help tidy as much as possible before DCP arrived as I didn't know what they would do. I told the kids, they needed to help in case they thought that they should remove the younger ones until we'd got the house in order.

They all moved fast! Best I've ever seen and fortunately we'd had to tidy up the day before when Margaret came over to give me a knitting lesson, unexpectedly. (I was supposed to go to her, but the Tarago wouldn't start, so she came to me.) By the time Kay and Marion arrived, the house was reasonably tidy and we installed them in the lounge room and they never asked to go any deeper into the house, thankfully! Had trouble getting such large ladies on our lounges though, couldn't sit them together! :/

I did not offer them any refreshment, they were neither friends nor welcome guests! They asked a few questions and warned me of the dangers of a young child wandering the streets. Like I hadn't had all those scenarios running through my brain already, in the 5 mins it took for me to find out she was gone to finding out she was found! Duh! They told me I am now in the system, on their books and they would keep an eye on me. If it happened again, they'd be back! I got the implication.

I posted on FB after they'd been gone for a little while and I'd had a rather large rum and coke to settle my nerves, followed swiftly by another! Everyone was so sweet and restored my equilibrium better than the alcohol! One of my US friends gave me a link to a website that sold alarms for your front door and I knew that wouldn't work too well for us, but it got us thinking and Rob found a site the next day for personal tracking devices. It's US$250 though and we'll have wait for a bit before we can get it.

Ainslie called me when David saw my post on FB and was so supportive she made me cry! I told her about the device and she offered to send some money to put towards it! Honestly, we've been so blessed lately! Every time something goes wrong, there's someone to meet the need!

GOD IS SO GOOD!!!!

Karys may live to see her next birthday after all!

What scares me the most is that she has taken Taffy with her twice lately on her little adventures, and last time, she just left her at the park alone! Some young boys brought Taffy home, thankfully! It's way past time to put this little adventurer in a safer zone. She's put her guardian angels through heaps already!

Taffy has been ill since Wednesday and now I'm getting it and Karys is too. It may slow her down a little, but she's not slept well tonight and I'm waiting for her to go back to sleep, so I can. I'm so tired and footy is looking like Mt Everest for tomorrow morning. We'll see how much sleep happens tonight. Colt has been home all week too, so he probably shouldn't play tomorrow anyway. However, everyone wants their money for the end of season activities and gifts for the coaches, so I may push myself and then sleep the rest of the day! :)