WIS News 10 - Columbia, South Carolina | 4-year-old with DSS after being found wandering in Orangeburg

4-year-old with DSS after being found wandering in Orangeburg

ORANGEBURG, SC (WIS) - A 4-year-old girl found wandering along an Orangeburg road Thursday is in Dept. of Social Services custody, and the person who was supposed to be watching her may face charges.

Orangeburg Department of Public Safety Capt. Mike Adams says they found the girl around 9:50am Thursday on Ellis Avenue, just one block from one of the busiest thoroughfares in town, Chestnut Street..

When the police found her, the only thing they knew was that her name was Solitha, and she was wandering around a place where no four year old needed to be. 
    
She didn't know her last name or the names of her parents. The only thing the police knew was they had a lost little girl.

"We tried to determine her name and address, something of that nature, but we couldn't get her name, address, mother's name, father's name grandmother or caretaker," says Adams.
    
Police combed the neighborhood, searching for anything that would clue them in as to whom the little girl belonged.

"We contacted everybody in the area. We had a team of officers go door to door," Adams told WIS News 10.
     
Eventually, officers found a group of people searching for the little girl in the area and were led to her father and caretakers.

Capt. Adams says one of the most disturbing facts is that while Solitha was missing, nobody who was searching for her called police to report her missing.

"It's not uncommon for a child to wander off, but to my knowledge, the agency was not called.
   
Thursday afternoon Solitha was turned over to the Department of Social Services.  

Investigators with the Orangeburg Department of Public Safety will decide whether her caretaker will face charges.

Reported by Drew Stewart

Updated by Logan Smith