SEMINOLE - A two year-old boy, who walked out of a residence he was visiting in Seminole and wandered to the home of a neighbor, has been identified and reunited with his family.
Pinellas County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a call of a child found at 8470 Lantana Drive in unincorporated Seminole at about 8:55 a.m. on June 29 after David Parrish, 27, reported that the child had come to his front door and opened it.
According to deputies, the front door of Parrish's residence was secured only with a door chain. When the homeowner realized the door was open and went to close it, he saw the little boy's arm through the door. Parrish allowed the child into his home and contacted the Sheriff's Office. The child was later identified Marcus Alexander Willis.
Six patrol units responded to the scene and deputies searched the neighborhood door to door for several hours. At the time, it was only known to deputies that the child's name was Marcus and that he was staying with his grandfather.
Reverse 911 calls were placed to area homes in an effort to locate his parents or relatives and to further identify the child.
Several hours later the child's mother, Natasha Lee Cooper, 25, woke up and discovered that her son was not in the home.
Mother and child are visiting from Lakeland, Ga., and are staying at the maternal grandfather's home located on Lantana Drive in Seminole, according to a report from the sheriff’s office.
When Cooper went outside to look for her son, she came across news crews covering the case, and was immediately led to the home where the boy was reported found earlier in the day.
At the home, she was advised by the Parrish family that Marcus had been transported by deputies to the Sheriff's Child Protection Investigation Division offices. Cooper was subsequently taken to CPID by a member of the Parrish family.
As is routine procedure in child protective cases, investigative follow up is continuing in this case. In the meantime, until the investigation is complete, the child has been placed in the custody of Tara Rae Hayes, who is the grandfather's girlfriend.
The mother, Natasha Lee Cooper, will continue to have access to the child.
Marcus' father, Kristopher Willis is traveling to Pinellas County from Georgia to meet with his family.
No criminal charges have been filed. The investigation continues.
