Three-year-old left alone at Hennigsdorf daycare as police investigate

A three-year-old girl was left at a daycare in Hennigsdorf, Germany, after staff apparently thought every child had been collected.

Her mother arrived at about 4:45 p.m.

on October 22, while the daycare was supposed to remain open until 5 p.m., and found the doors locked.

A construction worker stayed with the girl until her mother arrived after finding her on play equipment in the daycare garden.

Police believe she was alone for less than half an hour, and she was not hurt.

Police are investigating a suspected breach of duty of care, while the city is also reviewing what happened.

Investigators have not established why she was left behind, and the daycare had previously been the subject of a court case over allegations involving children’s treatment between 2019 and 2023.