HINCKLEY, Ohio — While investigators try to figure out the details of why a little boy was abandoned in a Hinckley cemetery earlier this week, the community is ralling around young Tony.
On Thursday morning, Hinckley Police Chief David Centner announced on Facebook that the child, believed to be roughly 3 1/2 years old, was doing well "in the loving home" of a Medina County foster family. Centner added that the father of Tony had been 'very cooperative' with investigators.
Centner invited anyone in the community who wanted to buy a present to Tony to leave the gifts at the Hinckley Police Department. The response was overwhelming.
"From all of us at HPD we want to thank everyone for your kindness, thoughts, prayers and overwhelming love," Chief Centner wrote in a follow-up post on Thursday evening. "Our lobby is full from the gifts that have been dropped off. I reached out to my friend Santa and tomorrow morning after he has finished his deliveries he is going to stop at HPD. We are going to load the sleigh and make one final stop to see a our little friend."
Hinckley police officers responded to a call of a "little boy" found abandoned at Hope Memorial Gardens Cemetery just after noon on Wednesday.
A witness says she saw a medium blue mid-sized car speed off, leaving the little boy to run after the car followed by a dog. The car left the cemetery and headed west on SR 303 heading towards Brunswick.
The boy was taken into protective custody and Medina County Children Services were contacted. He told officers his name is "Tony." The young boy also told officers his mom's name is "Katy" and his dad's name is "David."
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