3 WVa kids who left home, wanted to visit New York found

ST. ALBANS, W.Va. – Three children who wanted to visit New York City walked out of their adoptive parents’ home in their pyjamas early Monday but were found safe several hours later after being spotted by a neighbour, police said.

The neighbour called 911 and the children were located less than a mile (1.6 kilometre) from their home. They were to be examined by medics as a precaution, the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post.

A camera recorded the children leaving their home near St. Albans shortly before 3:30 a.m. The parents realized they were missing about an hour later and called 911. Bloodhounds from the Kanawha County sheriff and the state Division of Forestry joined a state police helicopter crew in the search, an earlier sheriff’s statement said.

The sheriff’s statement identified the children as Lucas Holmes, 11; Delaney Holmes, 9, and Kaylena Holmes, 8. The two girls were wearing purple jackets and pyjamas in the chilly weather. Lucas Holmes was wearing a blue jacket and pyjamas. Temperatures in St. Albans were in the high 40s early Monday.

Sheriff’s spokesman Brian Humphreys said in a telephone interview that a preliminary investigation found the children mentioned to each other that they wanted to visit New York. He said the children had no connections to New York.