On March 26th, 2025, officers were dispatched to a local school after a three-year-old child was found wandering onto campus without shoes. >> Just information, the child's been picked up by their parents. >> Mr. Hodgej, could you come to the office, please? Yeah, he owned his bike up here. No shoes. He did have a coat on, though. >> Yeah, >> his name's Michael. Does he have siblings that go here? >> He's got two siblings. I'm Marcus and Na. >> Hello. >> Hello. How are you? >> I'm all right. >> Thanks for coming. >> My >> What's that? >> I'm Deputy Myrael. >> Hi. Brian Hodge, superintendent. >> So, I don't know if I've met you. >> Nope. I'm kind of new. This is my first school school year. >> Awesome. Yeah. A good deal. >> Yep. >> How she feel you on all the details? >> Kind of. said uh he rode his bike up here, no shoes, had a coat on, and then they picked him up >> about not 5 minutes ago. >> Was it mom or dad that picked him up? >> Dad. >> Dad. Okay. >> Didn't seem didn't really to me didn't seem too concerned about anything. Um >> he basically ignored you, I think. >> Do you know are they living over here at 127? >> 123, isn't it? >> Right here on the corner, I believe. >> 127. >> Oh, I'm sorry. I thought it was 123. >> Last time I was in 127, there was 8 ft of water in the in the basement. Oh god, >> that house it it was like falling apart. I've cleared it a couple times cuz the doors and windows were all open at night >> here on the corner >> on it's on all the way down on the corner on the south or north side. >> Okay. Yeah. >> Interesting. I didn't think that house was livable. >> Come on in. >> Sorry. >> Hi Christian teacher. >> Hello. >> Scoot behind you. >> Sorry. >> I'll scoot in front of you. I'm going to take you down to the >> You found the kid bike. >> Yes. Yeah. We're out on the playground and I see him >> riding up on this little bike, gets to the corner and a car comes by. So I'm thinking, well that maybe his parents and then they just went on by him and then he pulls up and come and I was started walking over there and he comes up towards the playground as I'm walking towards him and he's >> you said he stopped on the you're talking the corner of Jefferson and >> he stopped at this Yeah. like got the southside and then got to the sidewalk and then there's a little turn that the sidewalk comes towards the playground and that's where I got him. Then I asked him, "Where's mommy?" She's sleeping. Okay. Well, where's daddy? He's sleeping. >> Okay. >> So, >> have you guys ever had this ever happened before? Have you ever seen him before not too long ago? >> Yeah, they just started here. Well, he didn't. His older siblings. >> Any concerns with the other kids? I don't know them. >> Okay, fair enough. All right. Well, I got everything I need from you guys. Um >> All right. I'm going to go see you, Mom and Dad. >> Okay. >> All right. Thank you guys. >> Thank you. Appreciate it. >> Oh, how you doing? >> Are you Cody? >> Yeah. >> What's going on today, man? >> Oh, my little one decided to go to school. >> Okay. Where were you when he decided to go to school? >> In the house playing. >> Okay. He was playing with puppies. >> It just took off on you? >> Yeah. Got on his bike we just picked up last night and took off. >> Okay. Where's mom at? >> She's inside right now in the bathroom. >> How long was he out here unsupervised? >> Uh say about 5 minutes. We had the door open so we could see him, but he decided to >> How long was it before you noticed he was gone? >> Oh, I don't know. Let's see. cuz we just bought this place and I'm trying to fix it up. >> I've been in here a couple times. The basement still flooded? >> No, I drained that. >> Okay, >> that was a pain in the butt. Wasn't that long? Usually he's just laying around right there with the puppies. >> How long is not that long? >> Uh about 10 minutes. >> Okay. Did you look anywhere for him before you found him at the school? Yeah, I was looking around block and everything. >> Okay. Cuz he's from what they said, he was down there 30, 45 minutes. >> That'd be about time me walking around the block trying to find him. I don't get service in the house, so they can't call me. >> Okay. I guess they said they called you and mom. >> Yeah, she got the voicemail. >> Do you generally let him just hang out unsupervised? No, usually you're just right there playing or he's in the house playing on his tablet or whatever. >> Okay. How long you guys lived here? >> Uh, we just moved in. Um, we finally got it finalized beginning of March. >> So, more more than a week. >> Yeah. >> Okay. He's not registered in school anywhere. >> No, he wants to go to school so bad, but it's unreal. He's got um he goes April for their screening. >> How old is he? >> Three, four, four. >> Okay. >> Brother and sister go to Ashley, right? Okay. >> Okay. >> Is it brother and sister? >> Yeah. >> Okay. >> I thought he was older. >> No, >> I was just going off school age. So, >> is this mom? >> Yep. >> Hello. >> We're here asking about Michael. >> Yeah. So, you want to tell us you're >> an artist? >> Yeah. >> You want to tell us your side of things? >> I was upstairs working on clothes. >> Okay. >> And he was just hanging out in the backyard unsupervised. >> Okay. Do you know how long he was at the school or how long he was missing from your yard? >> That long. I mean, he literally maybe about five, six minutes he disappeared and then the school called me. I >> The school had him for 45 minutes. Yeah, they said they were outside with him for about a half hour and then they called us and it took me 15 minutes before I got there and you guys were pulling out as I was pulling in. >> Okay. The school at 9:37 he went missing around. So they had him for, from what they said, they had him for a half hour before they called you cuz they they didn't know who he was until they brought him in and his brother walked by. >> Yeah. He was probably like around 9 9:15ish, 9:20ish. >> Okay. So timeline adds up. He was down there about 45 minutes. >> Yeah. >> You guys didn't even realize he was gone for 45 minutes. >> I was upstairs. We just moved here recently and we usually have chain locks on the doors in our old house because he likes to escape, but we let him play outside. >> Well, then someone should have been with him as a three-year-old. To not account for your three-year-old for 45 minutes, that is a big problem. >> The teacher who found him said he almost got hit by a car. >> Seriously? >> Yeah. He was riding down the road in a car pull. >> Did you really ask seriously? We wouldn't be standing if your driveway if we weren't serious. >> I apologize again. >> You don't have to apologize to us. It's him. >> I know his brother has OD anger issues and he likes to run away and he must watch him. But we're we're at his doctors trying to figure out. >> Well, this isn't about brother. Brother wasn't here to coach him. He was in the backyard unsupervised and took off and you guys had no idea. >> Yes. So, going forward, when your child, your three-year-old is outside, are you going to leave him unsupervised while you guys are in the house? >> You guys have IDs on you so I can just make sure everything's I'm pretty sure they're already attached. >> Nothing. I'm going to grab my phone, make sure my statute's correct. All right. Can you get mom out here, too? Okay. Um, I'm giving you both the ticket today for child endangerment. Okay. The fact that your child, if it was couple minutes, that's one thing. 45 minutes. And the fact that they said that uh Hamilton's got you by a car. We're giving you a court date. Okay. So, it is a class A misdemeanor. You do have to appear in court. Your court date is going to be April 15th. That's going to be in Nashville at 10:30 a.m. Okay. So, here's your license. um writing one for both of you. You guys can take it up with the judge. Explain your side of things. Um I don't know what's going to happen from there. I'm going to tell you I do I am a mandatory reporter, so I will I have to report this to DCFS. So they'll probably contact you as well. Okay. >> Okay. >> You want to give that to her? I don't know what'll come from that, but I do have to tell them, you know, what was told to me and what I encountered. >> Okay. >> All right. Any questions for me? >> No. >> Okay. Please, if your child's outside, keep an eye on them. Yep. >> I would much rather come out here and write you a ticket. I don't like writing you guys tickets, but I would much rather that than come deal with a child that got hit by a car because their parents couldn't keep an eye on them. Okay. >> All right. If you guys got any questions, call the sheriff's office.