Mother of Eight Won’t Be Charged for Forgetting One at Restaurant
SAN JOSE — No charges will be filed against a mother of eight biological and foster children who apparently lost count and left a 3-year-old son behind after having dinner at a Burger King in San Jose.
Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Sgt. Jim Arata said Tuesday that the woman loaded her children into her van about 5 p.m. Monday and took them home. Someone else apparently put them to bed while the mother went grocery shopping.
When she returned, Arata said, she did a head count and discovered one missing.
“She just has too many in the flock, I guess,†Arata said. “I don’t know. Sometimes it’s hard to keep track. I’ve lost my own children when they were small.â€
Meanwhile, the manager at the fast-food restaurant had called police to report that a blond boy had been abandoned at the restaurant. He was found in the Burger King’s play lot about 9 p.m.
Law enforcement officials took the child to a juvenile shelter until investigators determined that no crime had been committed.
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