KIMARI DANTE /Missing Parents - 2 yo Boy - Fort Lauderdale FL

Police are searching for the parents of a 2-year-old boy who was
found alone near a South Florida apartment complex Sunday night.


Patrol
officers discovered the boy around 8:20 p.m. near the front gate of
Venice Cove Apartments at 19th Street and Northwest Seventh Avenue. Fort
Lauderdale Police responded to the scene after receiving multiple calls
from residents who saw the child.The unidentified child hasn't told police his name.The child has since been taken to Department of Children and Families service center in Plantation.Anyone who recognizes this boy or has information on his parents' whereabouts, please call DCF at 954-828-5700.
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A lost little boy was found alone by the front gate of a Fort
Lauderdale apartment complex and now police are trying to find his
parents.Someone called police and reported the boy alone at
Venice Cove Apartments at 717 NW 19th St. about 8:20 p.m., police
spokesman Sgt. Frank Sousa said.The boy told officers that he was two years old but couldn't give officers his name or his parent's name, Sousa said.Fort
Lauderdale police contacted the Department of Children and Families,
but is still looking for the boy's parents or guardian. Anyone with
information should call police at 954-828-5700 or Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-8477.

The parents
of a 2-year-old boy found wandering near the gate of a Ft. Lauderdale
apartment complex Sunday night will not be re-united with him right
away.

During a dependency hearing Monday afternoon, a judge ordered that the
Department of Children and Families place the boy with either relatives
or in foster care until they can determine the competency of his
parents. The judge said his first choice would be to have the boy stay
with relatives.

"I wish, I wish, I wish I had an explanation, honestly I do, but
unfortunately I mean," said Peter Dantes, who was with the child's
mother, Claire Rene, when the child went missing.

Just before 8:30 p.m. Sunday, Ft. Lauderdale
police said they received a call about a lost child at the Venice Cove
Apartments complex at 717 NW 19th Street. The boy was able to tell
officers that he was 2-years-old but couldn't tell them his name or the
names of his parents, according to police spokesman Sgt. Frank Sousa.

According to Dantes, he and Kamari were watching "Everyone Hates Chris,"
last night while lying in Dantes's bed. Investigators said that show
comes on at 9pm, and Dantes said he went to sleep after that.

"Right after the show, came off, I said ok go to bed," Dantes said. "He
walked out the door and went across; I turned my back around and went to
sleep."

Investigators said the times don't add up. They say the child was
already out of the house, wandering around, then with police long before
the time that TV show came on.

Monday morning his parents contacted police to say that their son was missing.

The parents were briefly reunited with their son at a hearing at the DCF
offices in Plantation, but left the meeting without him. The boy's
mother would only say that 'he's fine'.

DCF officials say the boy's parents will have a lot of explaining to do
at a dependency hearing before they can be deemed safe and responsible – and get the boy back.

"Obviously we want the court to be involved to make sure the child's
best interests are looked after, and then we'll base our next steps on
what the judge says," said DCF's Mark Gordon "The length of time
concerns are investigators, that is definitely a long period of time to
go without some sort of confirmation that the child is well."

Gordon said one piece of good news is that the child is healthy and happy.

"No scratches, no bruises, the child looks great, he looks happy and healthy, there are no other signs of concern," said Gordon.

The family vowed to put childproof locks on the door, but the judge say it's too late for that.

"We're talking about a two-year-old child," said Judge Home Tieman
Bristol. "Why the house wasn't child proofed prior to the child coming
in or at least starting walking, could open the door, this court can't
answer."

For the time being, the boy will remain in the custody of DCF. The next hearing in the matter will be on August 17th.

The parents of a toddler found wandering the streets of Fort Lauderdale Sunday night, may soon have their son back.According
to published reports, once DCF officials help the parents child-proof
their house, the boy will be allowed to return home. The
2-and-a-half-year-old is currently staying with relatives.The parents appeared in court Monday to try and explain how their child wandered off. Neighbors called police after finding the little boy wandering alone near a Fort Lauderdale apartment complex.The boy's parents would not come forward to claim him until the next morning.

The parents of a 2-year-old boy who was found wandering near the gate of
a Ft. Lauderdale apartment complex Sunday night was reunited with their
son Friday afternoon.

"The court is comfortable with the child being allowed to go home with
the parents today," Broward County dependency court Judge Hope Bristol
said.

Kimari Dante,2, was sent home with his parents Peter Dante, 28, and
Claire Rene, 24, Friday. The judge made her decision after learning the
family had adequately child-proofed their home. He had been in DCF
custody since Monday.

"They have installed locks, covered electrical outlets, they have
child-proofed the home," said Peter Dante's attorney Roger Ally. "They
have learned they have to be diligent in supervising their child."

Still, questions remain about Sunday's incident when Kimari wandered
away from his family's house. Police discovered the boy around 8:20 p.m.
near the front gate of the Venice Cove Apartments at 19th Street and NW
7th Avenue.

At a dependency hearing on Monday, his parents told the judge they put
him to bed around 9:00 p.m. after watching the television show,
"Everybody Hates Chris." But police say they found him before the show
even aired. His parents didn't know he was missing until the next
morning around 6:00 a.m.

These discrepancies will be addressed at an arraignment on August 17th.
Both parents have to attend parenting classes, according to the judge.

Nevertheless, both parents consider themselves and their child very lucky.

"These parents are very grateful to the police and to the department,"
Ally said. "Because this child could have wandered off; could have ended
up in the hands of a pedophile, a sex ring, or heaven forbid, run over
by a car."