ARLY ERSHBOCK - 2 yo - Portland OR

Parents of Portland toddler found wandering on street come forward


Posted on November 27, 2011 at 2:28 PM

PORTLAND -- Police located the parents of a
2-year-old boy who had been found wandering on a North Portland street
with a mentally ill woman Sunday, but they said he would remain in
protective custody.

Just after 9 a.m. police received several calls about a disheveled
woman walking near the 3900 block of N. Mississippi Avenue with the
child, according to Lt. Robert King.

Officers at the scene found the boy was with a mentally ill woman
known to police. King said she was disheveled and she was wearing men's underwear.

The child was taken into protective custody and placed in an undisclosed foster home.

His biological parents came forward shortly after the story was
reported, and they said the child was supposed to have been at church
with his grandparents. Police said the boy would remain in custody while
they continued to investigate.
http://www.nwcn.com/news/oregon/Parents-come-forward-toddler-still-in-protective-custody-134565303.html

Security camera captures woman walking away with toddler

Last Updated: Nov 28, 2011 at 1:30 PM PST


»Play Video

In this video still taken from
across the street from where the boy went missing, a woman carrying a
child in a blanket is seen at the bottom left of the frame.

PORTLAND,
Ore. – Security camera footage obtained by KATU News shows a woman
police say has mental and drug issues walking down a
street carrying a young boy in North Portland.

Watch the security video | Watch the interview with the boy's mother

The mother of the child told KATU News she thinks the suspect came into her home and took the child.

"I believe she came into the house," said Renee Ershbock. "There were
things taken from our house, taken from our porch, such as blankets,
that he couldn't carry by himself."

Police said the parents of Arly Ershbock, 2, came forward to claim
him Sunday after he was found with a woman who was not his parent or
guardian.

Police said Arly was taken into protective custody after he was found
in the arms of 30-year-old Lisa Kemper, who was wearing men's underwear
and acting strangely, according to witnesses who called police.

On Monday, video footage of what appeared to be Kemper carrying the
child down a North Portland street was given to KATU News by a neighbor
who lived across the from the family.

The video, shot from the upper floor of Rick Eberhart's home, shows a
person carrying a child in a blanket down North Failing Street near his
home.

Eberhart told KATU News that he installed a video security system in
his home several years ago after having some incidents of property theft
at this home.

When he heard about the incident with Arly, he checked his recordings
and located footage of Kemper carrying the buy down the street in a
blanket.

Renee Ershbock said she believes Kemper came into her home at some point and took Arly and the blanket.

"He could have never carried those blankets and his coat
anywhere," she said. "At worst, he was on the porch, but that just seems
crazy to me."

Ershbock said when she first noticed her son was missing, she assumed he was with his grandparents, who also live at the home.

"They take the kids to church on Sunday and when we woke up we just figured they were with grandma and grandpa," she said.

Local residents in North Portland who saw Kemper with the child on
North Mississippi Avenue notified police when they became concerned
with her behavior.

Police said Kemper has mental health issues and has a history of drug
use. She was taken to a holding facility pending a Monday court
appearance.

Angel Berrera told KATU News he had seen Kemper in the area on
several occasions talking to herself and wandering around "like she was
lost."

Kemper was not able to identify the boy and police determined he did
not belong to her. Police said the boy was found with her a few blocks
away from where his parents live. He did not appear to be hurt.

Police investigated how the boy became missing before they released
him back into his parents' custody. They interviewed his parents and
grandparents.

The parents and grandparents of the boy live at the same address in
North Portland and it was initially thought there may have been a
communications mix-up in the family on who was taking care of Arly
Sunday morning.


Raw interview with Renee Ershbock:
http://www.katu.com/news/local/Camera-captures-woman-walking-away-with-toddler-134563678.html