Thread: Missing child at Chuck E Cheese UNBELIEVABLE!!!

This is a letter from my daughter about my Grandson to the Ceo of none other than Chuck E Cheese! Please reply to Tosha or on here with your feelings on this as she is adding another packet with all replies in a second mailing to them. It could be your son, daughter, grandchild as it was mine. Tosha is trying to get this around to everyone. Please if you would, in your reply ,add your first name and where you live so she can show them in her next mailing how fast something this terrible can reach around the world. Knowing parents and Grandparents around the world will know to be aware of the lack of security and safety at Chuck E Cheese maybe they will be quicker to change thier policy on missing children. I never ever ask anyone to pass something on but this is very near my heart and could save the life of a child. Logan was lucky Thank God the next one might not be if policies are not changed.

Thanks,
Debbie




To Whom It May Concern:


I recently attended a birthday party at your location in Roseville, CA. During the party my husband went to go track down our 4 ½ year old son to come watch his friend open her presents. He came back about 10 minutes later with a look of panic covering his face saying he could not find him.

We both started in different directions to look. We opened the bathroom doors and yelled inside, no answer. I went completely up through the tubes, down the slide with no luck there either. I ran to the front and asked the lady checking people in and out if she had seen him go out and described to her what he looked like, about how tall he was and what he was wearing. She said, “no he has not come through here”. I then asked, “is there anyway to do an overhead page because we can not find him anywhere”. She directed me over to the counter where the manager, David was coming out. She told him “they can not find their kid”.

I then went on to tell him as well what he looked like, about how tall he was and what he was wearing. He started to come out of the swinging door asking “have you looked everywhere for him”? I was a little shocked by his question considering I was starting to really get to a panic state because now we are going on about 15 minutes looking for my son. I responded, “Yes we have looked everywhere. We have looked all around the place, in the bathroom, up the tubes, etc”. I asked him if he could do an overhead page. He said he could, he asked me my son’s name as he was walking back through the swinging door to proceed behind the counter. After telling him my son’s name he then stopped and said, “well wait if he is only 4 then he will not know what to do or where to go if he gets paged and besides he can’t get out (pointing toward the exit) without being checked”.

I said, “is there anyway to do a page saying there is a lost little boy, here is what he is wearing if anyone sees him anywhere please say something, wave your hand or whatever”? He just proceeded to come out from behind the counter and say he would just help us look around. As you can only imagine being a parent with a lost child and the manager of the facility refusing to make a page so that 200 people were at least glancing around to look for my son instead of just a few people, I was irate and disappointed at this point! I just took off to continue my search. In which case the manager just followed my husband through the entire place. In my opinion you are not really helping much if you are just following someone who is looking already.

I tried the bathroom again to find him this time locked in a stall crying. I was so relieved to just hear his voice as we were probably going on 25-30 minutes at this point and my mind was now leaning toward “oh my god someone has taken my son”! I asked him what was wrong and being that he is still learning to wipe after using the restroom he said, “I needed you to wipe my butt. I called for you and you did not come”. I was almost crying when I told him I did not hear him. I told him to stay there and I would be RIGHT back. I wanted to go tell my husband I found him so he did not continue to search. When I was scanning the place just at the end of the hallway to the restrooms I spotted him winding through the games with the manager still just a step or two behind him. I motioned to him a thumbs up to tell him I found him and pointed to the restrooms. He nodded in acknowledgement.

When the manager saw he just turned around and walked away. I went back in to help my son and let him know how scared we were that we didn’t know where he was. He said, “I was right here mommy”. That was what made my eyes fill up with tears. He had no idea.

After all was settled down I asked him if he wanted to go play a little more and he did not stating his tummy hurt which is what put him in the bathroom quickly in the first place without having a chance to even let us know where he was going. We were going to go ahead and cash in our tickets when my husband reminded me I had a cup left over from our last trip in my glove box in the car. I grabbed my keys and headed out to get them. The girl at the door asked if we found him. I told her we had and where he was and everything. When I came back in she was no longer at the door. She was talking to another girl at the cashier register at the counter. I did not say anything, stepped over the red rope and started making my way back to our table. I never took my eyes off of her as I walked right by, passed the salad bar and continued on. She never once looked up. She was not aware at all of the fact someone had just come in. So who is to say someone could not have walked out with my child? They would have walked the same path I just did to come in. So when the manager would not make the page to help due to the fact that “they can not get out without being checked, let’s just go look” obviously that is not the case at all!



I am a very loyal Chuck E Cheese customer. I think with the economy the way it is that it is nice the games only take one token so you can take your kids to do something they love without having to spend a lot of money. However after this incident I will never be returning to that location. I am also part of a few local moms’ groups in the Sacramento area where I will also pass on the word not to go to this location, as they do not care about the safety of your children! As a kids place you would really figure the staff would help out in a case like this. If you are at Chuck E Cheese in the first place you are more than likely a parent. And there probably aren’t too many parents that would not want someone to help them out if it was their child that was missing. I do not feel that the manager who was representing your business name really cared or even wanted to take the time to help. I would really like to know what your policy and protocol is for a lost child. Is your staff trained on what to do in this situation?

So, how was it Chuck E. Cheese's fault that she wasn't watching her 4 1/2 year old? If she was THAT nervous about someone walking in and kidnapping him, then she should have been watching him.

OK, First of all you may want to edit your post and delete the personal info that is on here. Second, I am glad he was found safe and sound.

Now, why wasn't one of the parents watching the little boy? Chuck E. Cheese is not a babysitter. They have their entrance system as a safety feature but it does not replace parental supervision. She needs to keep an eye on her child at all times. I am glad nothing bad happened to him in that bathroom all alone with all the sickos around nowadays.

Originally Posted by April78945

So, how was it Chuck E. Cheese's fault that she wasn't watching her 4 1/2 year old? If she was THAT nervous about someone walking in and kidnapping him, then she should have been watching him.

Her 4 1/2 year was with a group of people and left to go to run to bathroom! He was not left alone! He didnt have time to go back to them because of a rush to bathroom. Is that how you would feel if your child was with a friend and went missing?

This is called backpeddling. NONE of that was in the original letter.
If my child was with a friend and went missing, I'd be pissed at my friend for not watching him. But, seeing as BOTH this childs parents were in the building, ONE of them shoudl have put down the pizza and stayed with the kids. This is not Chuck E. Cheese's fault at all.

OK OK OK ... I have been in a similar situation with my oldest who is now almost 18 when he was about 2. Hubby, me, and 2 other friends and son went to a arcade. Everyone assumed someone else had him. I realized we couldnt find him. Spent 20 mins searching that arcade. ( which was in a mall) I ran to the security office and 10 minutes later a guard FINALLY showed up. My ex gave him son's info while I did another search and found him.
Everyone is giving this woman hell about how her daughter should have been watching. It takes a turn of your head and they are gone. no matter how wonderful of a parent you are, you cant in no way no how possibly have your eye on your kid 24/7 and if you say you do, you are lying.
The whole point of the letter is that Chuck E Cheese did NOT react the way they should have. They should have announced a little boy wearing blah blah with blonde hair is lost, can everyone please keep a eye out." and then sent any available employee to help look. its real easy to sit back and say they did this and that wrong , or i never etc etc, but wait til it happens to you and you will have a whole new outlook.

to the OP, I am glad your grandson was found safe and sound. I am sure your daughter was terrified. I was when it happened to me. My son was so small, we couldnt see him in the race car game. It happens.

WOW I can't believe you guys are bashing this person. Their child was missing. Regardless of who was eating pizza and who should have kept their eyes on this child for every second, a child was still missing.
We all should know that it only takes one second for a pervert or kidnapper to grab a child. Heck I've heard of kids getting grabbed out of shopping carts. I guess it was the parents fault for looking at the item they were intending to buy. Children have been snatched out of beds, front yards and even hospitals. Children lately are even being taking from the womb. It could happen to anyone at anytime, and even to people that have eagle eyes.
I have never been to a Chuck E Cheese. So I have no idea how they would handle this. But it seems to me they could have announced something. If I worked there I would have even done a lock-down until the child was found. That is easy to do. I agree that the staff did not handle this situation properly. And Thank-God you found your child.
If this is Chuck E Cheese's missing child policy and how they handle it ITA it needs to be changed.
After all isn't it the child we should all be worried about? It is the children we have to fight for and protect. Not play the blame game on who is at fault.

If it helps add me to the list! I will not be taking my Grandson there!

My name is Melissa. I am a concerned Grandmother from Ohio.