Colorado Father Arrested After Toddler Found Calling For Help Alone On Balcony

A Colorado father is facing charges after patrol officers found his toddler daughter alone and calling for help from a second-floor balcony late at night.

The Boulder Police Department said a call came in at around 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday, July 28, reporting a young child wearing only a diaper standing on a second-floor balcony calling for help. Officers “raced” to the scene but did not receive an answer at the locked front door, which the child was too young to open.

Body-worn camera video shared by the police department shows officers climbing a fence and on top of their patrol car to reach the balcony, where they found the child unharmed but alone within reach of a “large amount of marijuana and drug paraphernalia.”

Officers identified and called the girl’s father, who allegedly told them she was asleep when he walked to get some food. While talking to officers, however, he “refused to return.”

Officers then changed the girl’s diaper, got her dressed, and brought her to the police station. They took care of her there until they could reach her mother, then drove the girl to her mother’s residence in Denver.

The next night, police “had a good idea where the father might be,” and found him at a bar. He allegedly had a large quantity of cash and 15 grams of fentanyl in his pockets.

Police did not immediately release the identity of the suspect, or specify the charges he faces.

“We’re glad this sweet child wasn’t hurt and we hope she only remembers the kindness of everyone who helped her this week,” police said.