HASTINGS, Minn., April 9 (UPI) -- A barefoot 2-year-old boy, carrying two bottles of Mike's Hard Lemonade in his hands, was found wandering on a Hastings, Minn., road, police said.
The toddler was seen in the middle of a busy street Monday afternoon, an open bottle of the alcoholic beverage in one hand and an unopened bottle in the other, by a passerby who notified police, KMSP-TV, Minneapolis/St. Paul, reported.
Hastings police took the child and canvassed the neighborhood to find the boy's home, going door-to-door and using an automatic telephoning system without success. Some 2 1/2 hours later, Robert Rasset, 42, called police to say his son was missing, the television station said.
"You would expect a parent to say, 'Thank God my child is OK.' That was not the response the officers got," said Hastings Police Chief Paul Schnell, noting police found Rasset intoxicated and uncooperative when they arrived at his home.
Rasset, who has three drunken driving arrests, was arrested and will be charged with child endangerment, KMSP-TV said, adding there was no sign the child consumed any of the alcohol.
