Pizza Delivery Driver Rescues Toddler Wandering City Alone At 3 A.M.

March 16, 2023

A pizza delivery driver in Grand Rapids, Michigan, rescued a toddler he spotted wandering around alone at three in the morning.

Gabe Botello / Credit: FOX 17

Gabe Botello, who works for Villa Pizza, says he was in the middle of a delivery around 3 a.m. when he spotted a very young girl alone in the cold.

"I had people's food, so I ran to the door and I gave them their food," Botello told FOX 17. "I went back looking for her [and] I didn't find her, so I got in my car, I drove around for a minute. I didn't find her [so] I started pulling into parking lots."

He eventually spotted the girl at a factory across the street. She was curled up between two cement blocks and wearing nothing but a t-shirt, diaper, and socks.

The location he spotted her / Credit: FOX 17

Botello put his sweatshirt on her and called 911.

"I had some water in my car, so she was drinking some water and I was just kind of like rubbing her back, letting her know she was okay and she started falling asleep," said Botello. "She was so just like exhausted and cold."

The spot the toddler was found / Credit: FOX 17

Police were able to reunite the 3-year-old with her mother, who was unaware her daughter was missing and thought she was sleeping.

It's unclear how the toddler got out and for how long, but the Grand Rapids Police Department believes it was an accident.

Botello is just glad he was at the right place at the right time.

"Sometimes you want to turn a blind eye but, you just never know [who] you're saving," said Botello. "Anybody could have picked up that little girl. In the middle of Ionia and Wealthy is not the best part of Grand Rapids, there's a lot of foot traffic over there, so, you know, I'm just glad she made it home. I'm glad she's okay."