When I was barely able to walk, probably younger than this girl, I got out of the house and walked down the middle of the street until an elderly neighbor who was working in her yard saw me and walked me back home.
My mother had noticed I was missing a minute or so before, and in her panic couldn’t decide what to do or which way to look—the ravine behind the house with the more-than-a-creek creek at the bottom, the ditch near the blind turn in the road that everyone took too fast, or call the police in case someone had grabbed me. She was freaking out big time, and says she almost had a relief heart attack when she saw our neighbor holding my hand and slowly coming up the street. Also my mother hadn’t been taking a nap. I was just born to be free!
And every time I was put in the crib, I got out on my own.
We didn’t have A/C then, and in the South it gets somewhat warm, so the screen doors were the only thing keeping us in.
So yes, I think there must be cause for neglect charges. If/when the story about his BAC comes out, I’ll post it too.