Search for tot, 4, ends happily

Makayla Machcinski gets a hug from neighbor Pam Davis while her mom, Shiloh, and uncle, Randy Logan, stay close at hand.

Four-year-old Makayla Machcinski dozed off in a neighbor s yard yesterday, unaware her mother was sick with worry because she couldn t find her. The result was a 90-minute search by police and firefighters.

We already warned her she s grounded to the house until she s 30, mom Shiloh Machcinski said after the search s happy ending.

Makayla likes to play in the front yard of her home in the 200 block of Roberta Drive in Lucas County s Jerusalem Township and sometimes sneaks across the street to grandma s house to see what she can get into.

Her dad, Frank Machcinski, thought the girl was at her grandmother s, and grandma Tammy Miner thought she was at home. That was about 10 a.m. When a half-hour went by and Makayla couldn t be found, her family called authorities.

I was just terrified, said Mrs. Machcinski. Nobody could find her.

Makayla had been seen walking on Reubens Street a few blocks away, but nobody knew how far she wandered.

A neighbor saw the girl inside a nearby outdoor playhouse about 11:30 a.m. A township firefighter got her and took her home.

Makayla told her mom she was bored because her older siblings were at school and went looking for a nearby park they sometimes walk to and play at. When she heard everyone calling her name, Makayla thought she was in trouble and hid in the playhouse.

Meghan Gilbert