A father has been arrested after a barefoot toddler was found walking along U.S. 301.
A woman and her passenger had been driving on U.S. 301 in Webster at about noon Tuesday when they spotted the blonde-haired, blue-eyed boy walking along the southbound shoulder of the busy roadway, according to an arrest report from the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office. The woman snatched the boy just before he was nearly struck by a tractor trailer truck, the report said. She secured the child in her car and dialed 911.
A deputy arrived and noted the child had a rash on his face, his shorts were soiled and he had insect bites on his bare feet. It appeared the child had been outdoors for an extended period of time.
The boy’s father, 39-year-old Matthew Mattheus of Webster, pulled up in a pickup truck. He was not cooperative with the deputy and said he simply wanted to take the boy home. Mattheus refused to provide a sworn statement and admonished the deputy, telling him to go catch “real criminals.” The report noted that Mattheus had never reported that the child was missing.
He was arrested on a charge of child neglect and booked at the Sumter County Detention Center.
