A 3-year-old in Nebraska who wandered from his mother and skirted his apartment was discovered safe and sound at a bowling alley across the street — trapped inside the “Bear Claw” toy machine, playing with all the stuffed animals.
Kael Ireland somehow managed to crawl inside the supposedly sealed-off machine at Madsen’s Bowling & Billiards in Lincoln, making his way inside through the slot that disburses prizes, the Lincoln Journal Star reported.
“He was just having a heyday,” one patron, Rachell Hildreth, told the paper. “He didn’t notice anyone around him. He was just having fun in there. I don’t think he wanted to get out.”
After Ashley Ireland contacted police about her missing son, a customer from the alley approached them and said a boy matching Kael’s description was inside, the Journal Star reported.
They found him still inside the machine, “happily playing with stuffed animals,” police said.
The alley manager ultimately called the vending company to free him.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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