Grandma allegedly put boy in trunk of vehicle

6/15/2002

A 51-year-old Sylvania Township grandmother is under investigation by township police and Lucas County Children Services after she was accused of locking her 7-year-old grandson in the trunk of a four-door sedan Thursday after leaving a day-care center.

The grandmother, who has full custody of the child, arrived at Kinder Care Day Center, 2812 Holland-Sylvania Rd., about 5:30 p.m. to pick up the boy, according to a township police report.

The boy, who the grandmother said has a behavioral disorder, refused to leave. She grabbed him by his feet and pulled the child down the hall, police said.

The grandmother put the boy in the trunk of a Lincoln Town car, and witnesses heard the child screaming and kicking in the trunk. The woman drove the boy to the 2500 block of Briarwood Lane, less than a mile from the day-care center, police said.

The child was found at the residence and later removed by CSB, which put the child in foster care, said Rod Brandt, the agency's spokesman.

The agency plans a court custody hearing next week.

Police yesterday turned over reports to Sylvania Municipal Court. A child endangering charge is pending and probably will be filed next week, said Michelle Wagner, a Sylvania assistant prosecutor.