A 3-year-old was left in a corn maze. His family called police the next day

It’s one thing to get lost in a corn maze.

It’s another to get left behind – especially for a three-year-old boy on a family outing.

But that’s what happened at the Crazy Corn Maze in West Jordan, Utah, according to West Jordan police Sgt. Joe Monson. The three-year old boy was found wandering on his own Monday night and taken to a police officer who was working security.

The officer spent 20 minutes with the child searching the maze entrance and exit for his family.

Eventually the boy got cold and was put in a patrol car to stay warm. The officer put “Finding Dory” on the car’s DVD player for the boy to watch and had a teddy bear for him.

“He watched the whole thing,” said the maze’s co-owner Kendall Schmidt.

Staff from the corn maze called for the family with a bullhorn, but it became obvious the family had left the child, Schmidt said.

“We just waited and waited for them to realize it,” he said. When no one came by the time the maze closed, the Utah Division of Child and Family Services was called to take the boy for the night, Monson said.

It wasn’t until the following morning that the family reported the child missing. Police officers responded to the call and then quickly put the facts together, Monson says.

The child was in good condition and it looks like it was an accident, Monson said.

“I don’t think it was intentional. Right now it doesn’t look like it was intentional.”

But the case is still active and will be turned over to the department’s investigations bureau, which will work with the DCFS to determine what exactly happened and if any charges will be brought against the family, Monson said.

These kind of cases tend to resolve themselves quickly, Monson said. He’s sure that the maze has had children get separated from their parents before.

“This was unique in that it lasted overnight,” he said.

Indeed, 19 seasons of running the maze, Schmidt said they have never had an situation like this before.

“The best part of this is that we have a happy ending,” he said.

This story was originally published October 10, 2017 at 2:31 PM with the headline "A 3-year-old was left in a corn maze. His family called police the next day."