Rasp
Senior Editor
Niglet left at Chuck E. Cheese, parents don't notice
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Father of abandoned girl fights for child's return
Girl left at restaurant to stay with relative
FORT WORTH — A two-year-old girl left behind at a Chuck E. Cheese restaurant in Fort Worth over the weekend will not go home to her parents; instead, she will remain with a relative.
A judge on Friday awarded temporary custody of Almedia James to her paternal great aunt. The case will be revisited in the next 30 to 60 days and Almedia's parents will have supervised contact with her during this time.
The girl, called "Mimi" by relatives, had been found unaccompanied Jan. 5 [Saturday] in the 4800 block of S.W. Loop 820. She was turned over to Child Protective Services when no one returned to the restaurant to retrieve her.
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Father of abandoned girl fights for child's return
Almedia James, 2, was left behind after she went with her parents said she was taken to the restaurant on Hulen Street in Fort Worth to attend a cousin's birthday party. Police only knew her as "Mimi," until her father came forward after they released a picture of the child and asked the public's help to identify her.
Now, Almedia's parents said they just want their child, who is still in Child Protective Services custody, back home.
"I want my baby real bad," said Brandon James, her father. "I want my baby real bad, you know."
Mr. James described the incident as a misunderstanding. He said he thought Mimi was with an aunt, who he said thought the two-year-old had gone home with another aunt after the party.
"I really don't even know what happened," he said. "I know it wasn't purposely done. I know it was an accident. I ain't faulting nobody for it. "
The father of three said he supports his family by working the overnight shifts at a fast food restaurant, which was where he said he worked all the weekend Mimi was left at Chuck-E-Cheese. On Monday, Mr. James said he started asking questions.
"When I went over there, there wasn't nobody there," he said. "My momma said she didn't hear. I called my sister; her phone didn't answer."
Part of the delay in reporting the child missing, James said, was that the family does not have a home phone.