Missing three-year-old foster child

CINCINNATI OFFICIALS LOOKING FOR BOY, 3
Thursday, August 17, 2006 NEWS 08B
Associated Press

Authorities and volunteers searched yesterday for a developmentally disabled 3-year-old who wandered away from his foster mother after she passed out a day earlier in a suburban park.

Officials said yesterday afternoon that they would stop their search of the park at 8 p.m. but would remain there through the night.

Marcus Fiesel was last seen about 1:15 p.m. Tuesday in Juilfs Park in Anderson Township just east of the city, Hamilton County authorities said. His foster mother collapsed because of a heart condition, authorities said.

Volunteers and relatives resumed searching at 7 a.m. yesterday, after a full search was suspended at 2 a.m. Patrols continued through the night, but authorities said they had no leads.

"The more time that expires with a child 3 years old -- is he eating? Is he drinking? Has he been hurt? We don't know that at this point. So, the level of concern is going up drastically with each hour," said Steve Barnett, a spokesman for the Hamilton County sheriff's office.

Barnett said it was unusual for searchers to go so many hours without a sighting.
"At this point, it is a mystery," he said.

Authorities think the foster mother, Liz Carroll, 30, of Union Township, was unconscious for about 10 minutes. When she came to, three toddlers were nearby, but Carroll told people trying to help her that she had four children.

The other children -- her 2-year-old son, Bryce; 1-year-old foster child Bradley; and 1-year-old Kelly, whom Carroll was baby-sitting -- were safe.

Carroll's husband, David, said Marcus has the mental ability of a child 12 to 18 months old. Marcus joined the family about four months ago and has a history of wandering off, David Carroll said. Marcus has left the homes of his biological parents and other foster parents in the middle of the night.