The mother of a toddler left alone on a stranger's doorstep says it happened because her friend got the wrong house when dropping off the child. She branded the incident a 'very big misunderstanding' but authorities in Texas say the woman who left two-year-old Royal Prince Simmons alone could face charges of felony child endangerment. The boy's mother had asked a friend to drop off the child with his father in Spring because she was in the hospital, Montgomery County Sheriff's Lt. Scott Spencer said. Spencer says the friend left the boy on the front step on Wednesday night without waiting for anyone to open the door. Willie Simmons, Royal's father, actually lives next door to the house his child was left at. He told authorities he didn't realize what had happened until a news crew showed him footage from his neighbour's video doorbell on Thursday morning. 'What if my neighbour wasn't there? If my neighbour wasn't there, my son would have been roaming up and down the street.
That was very irresponsible. And I feel the lady who dropped my son off needs to be held accountable.' Spencer says authorities have identified the woman in the video and that an investigation is underway, though she hasn't been charged. The woman was seen in the footage approaching the house on Legends Ridge Drive at around 8.20pm. She had the boy in one hand, dragging him along the drive, and had a monkey-shaped backpack in the other. The video shows her approaching the door quickly and dumping the boy and his belongings down. She then rang the doorbell, knocked on the door and sprinted away, leaving the little boy standing clueless in front of the door. She hopped back into the white car she was filmed arriving in and drove away. When the homeowner answered, the little boy was staring blankly at her with his belongings by his side. The woman took him inside and called the police who then reviewed her surveillance camera footage. Afterwards, the boy was taken into protective custody but within several hours, tips from the public identified him. It is now not clear if he remains in police custody or if he has been reunited with his father. The Montgomery County Sheriff's Office did not respond to inquiries on Thursday morning. The street where the boy was left is full of large family homes worth an average of $275,000. There are parks, tennis courts and schools nearby, and many of the houses have large backyards with their own pools.
