Police said they were called to the parking lot of the Best Buy store in the 7000 block of Arundel Mills Circle near the Arundel Mills Mall in Hanover shortly after 6 p.m. Thursday, where they found a 6-year-old boy who had been left inside a Chrysler Town and Country van.
A witness told officers she had parked next to the vehicle and 4:30 p.m. and noticed the boy by himself inside the van, which had its hazard lights on. The witness called 911 after returning to the car at 6 p.m. and noticing the child was still alone in the vehicle.
Officials said the child was able to unlock the door and get out of the van, which was cold and covered with snow. He was taken to a nearby hospital, where doctors said he was in good health and showed no signs of abuse, but he was cold and hungry.
Investigators tried several times to locate the driver of the vehicle but were unable to do so immediately. The boy's mother and grandfather eventually returned to the van at 7:30 p.m.
Officials said the pair told them that the child had been driven to the mall by the grandfather so he could pick up the boy's mother. The mother said the grandfather was the one who left him alone.
The grandfather, identified as Juan Carlos Calva Diaz, 47, of Columbia, was arrested at the scene and charged with neglect of a minor and confined unattended child under 8 years old.
Child Protective Services released the boy into the custody of the mother, who hasn't been identified. Detectives from the police child abuse unit are still investigating to determine if more charges should be filed.
The incident comes three days after Alicia Brown, 24, of Baltimore, was arrested and charged with child abuse and neglect after police said she left her 4-year-old daughter in a car for more than eight hours while she hung out inside the Maryland Live Casino.
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