Lost 3-year-old wanders into store

DETROIT -- Detroit police have reunited a woman with her toddler who wandered away from home. The 3-year-old boy walked out in the wee hours on Thursday morning.

The boy can be seen outside in the cold in pajamas with no shoes, trying to get into a gas station.

But he is so tiny - he struggles to open the door.

Finally he tries again - and gets inside.

The clerk working at the Citgo, right across from the Detroit city airport said the little boy told him he didn't know where his mom was and he was cold.

A customer brought him a blanket.

The boy asked for candy. The clerk gave him a snack and called police for help finding his missing mom.

So where was mom? Police say she was in this parking lot in the car talking to a friend. Her son was supposed to be in the apartment building sleeping, however, he woke up, realized mom wasn't there and decided to go look for her. The problem? He didn't go out the door on that side of the building. He went out another door, right onto the street.

The officers who responded had just put the little boy in their police car.

They were going to see if he could help them find his home. Then, his mom showed up.

"And his mother ended up running up to the gas station and he was like 'that's my mother, right there.'"

The apartment is right next door to the gas station.

Police say they questioned mom, who said she was feet away when he wandered out.

Police returned her little boy to her.

While it is not uncommon for children to manage to wander at night, child protective services will follow up.

"Child Protective services, they take out initial report and they do an investigation. They may sent someone to the home," said officer Derrick Metcalf.