Parents learned their 3-year-old daughter was missing when they saw a news broadcast reporting she'd been found in a Chuck E. Cheese restaurant.
Employees of the Bel Air, Md. pizzeria discovered the girl, Harmony, was by herself when she told a worker that she was thirsty at 8 p.m on Sunday. The manager called police after searching the premises for a parent or guardian. Harford County Sheriff's deputies waited with Harmony in the restaurant until 9:30 p.m., but no one showed up to get her, according to a press release from the department.
Harmony arrived at the restaurant with a large group of four adults and 10 children. The pizza party broke up around 8 p.m., but apparently none of the relatives noticed that Harmony slipped back inside after she found a token.
After keeping vigil in the restaurant for 90 minutes, the deputies took Harmony to a precinct house. They shared pictures of the girl with local television stations in the hopes of tracking down her parents.
The girl's mother and father split custody of her and assumed that she was with other family members until they saw an 11 p.m. newscast reporting that she'd been left behind hours before at the restaurant.
Immediately after the segment aired, sheriff's department officials said both parents called police and Child Protective Services released Harmony to her mother.
Because Harmony was inadvertently abandoned, police officials said they won't file charges.