Missing Michigan toddler found in impounded car, dad arrested
03/04/2026 5:30 pm PST
EASTPOINTE, Mich. (TCN) -- A man was arrested after his 13-month-old son was found inside his vehicle, which had been towed to an impound lot after being parked illegally.
On Feb. 26, police were contacted about a car parked on a restricted side of the street blocking a driveway, WKRC reports. A responding officer looked inside the locked car but said he did not see anything, and he called a tow truck. The car was towed to an impound lot the following day and it remained there until the afternoon of Feb. 28, according to the outlet.
WKRC reports that on the morning of Feb. 28, a woman contacted the police to report her child missing. A detective learned the woman’s boyfriend, Orlander Linson Jr., had had his car impounded the previous day and suspected the toddler might have been in the car. Harper Woods Police Chief Jason Hammerle did not specify how the detective was able to connect the vehicle to Linson, as the car was not registered to him.
The child was found crying inside the vehicle at the impound lot, pinned between the backseat and the passenger door, WXYZ reports. He was immediately taken to a hospital and handed over to child protective services, WKRC reports.
WJBK reports the child is expected to make a full recovery.
According to WXYZ, Hammerle said the child was not initially discovered in the parked car before it was towed because police “do not possess those types of tools. I’m satisfied our officer followed policy in that incident. We cannot enter or damage locked vehicles, and he did a visual inspection from the outside — I’m satisfied with that.”
Retired Detroit Police Chief Jim Dolunt said he believes the police officer could have done more and that “they dropped the ball.”
Linson was taken into custody on March 2, then arrested and charged with second-degree child abuse.
Linson is a father of five, does not have a residence, and had 10 active warrants at the time of his arrest, per WXYZ. He is being held on $100,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in court again on March 11.
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