The mother screwed up, but every parent on the planet loses track of their kid in a place they can get hurt at one time or another. Its tragic and she really should have known where the kid was but making a mistake does not imply she is a poor mother, the kid is out of control, or that WallMart had no fault
What I take exception to is that people here are using this even to feel better about themselves (I'm a great parent, I *DONT EVER* lose track of my kid), their kids (My kid would *NEVER go off five feet and get into trouble), and their parents (my parents raised me so that I *NERVER* disobey anyone). This back-padding fest by all these uber parents is infuriating when but for the grace of God this could have happened to them (losing a kid).
I don't see any of what you are talking about from her.
My son could get into trouble in a heartbeat. He practically had an ER named for him because of the number of injuries that he suffered. Stuff happens, even in your own backyard. I didn't say, nor did the other poster, that the woman was a bad person or a bad mother, just that she should have had better control of the kid and we wouldn't be having this conversation.