Vancouver police say they won't recommend charges against the mother of a three-year-old girl found wandering alone in the Downtown Eastside last month.
The girl was seen walking by herself on the night of May 20 in the 100-block of Pender Street, an area in the heart of Vancouver's Chinatown near the city's hotbed of drug activity.
Police said that the child, who was hugging a cloth doll, appeared to have been well cared for, but could not give her name. They located her mother near the family apartment on Pender Street early the next morning.
According to police, the mother had gone out for the evening and left the girl by herself; she only noticed her daughter was missing when she returned home at 6 a.m. the next day.
At the time, a neighbour told CTV News that the mother was a problem gambler, and that it was not the first time the little girl had been left on her own.
Const. Jana McGuinness said Wednesday that the police department has wrapped up its investigation without recommending charges against the mother, and the case is now in the hands of the Ministry of Children and Family Development.
Ministry spokesman Kelly Gleeson told ctvbc.ca that he was unable to comment on specifics, but that in cases like this, the Ministry works with police to determine any child protection concerns and decide on an appropriate response.
"That may involve removal of a child or putting services or supports in place to ensure the health and well being of the child are being addressed," Gleeson said in an email.
"Our goal is always to return a child to his or her family -- but only when it is safe to do so."
