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Report: Babysitter Leaves Infant At Toys 'R' Us After Apparent Crash

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WILKES-BARRE, Pa. (KDKA) -- A Pennsylvania man reportedly asked a Toys "R" Us employee to keep an eye on the infant he was babysitting then left and never returned.

The Times Leader reports that 24-year-old Thomas Himlin Jr., of Plains Township, walked into the Toys "R" Us on Kidder Street in Wilkes-Barre on Wednesday and asked an employee to watch an infant he had with him. He then left the store and never came back.

According to documents obtained by the Times Leader, Himlin had initially arrived at the store in a vehicle with front-end damage and deployed air bags. He told Toys "R" Us employees he had gotten into a fight with two other men at a nearby diner.

Himlin then allegedly asked an employee to call his cell phone, left and later returned around 8:30 p.m. with an infant in a car seat. He asked an employee to watch the infant while he searched for his cell phone in his vehicle. Himlin then left the store and didn't come back. Witnesses saw Himlin get into a white Ford with a man and a woman as he was leaving.

The Times Leader says police found a white Ford outside Himlin's home, where his parents live. When police talked to Himlin's mother, she said her son was involved in a crash while he was babysitting and he had intended to return to the Toys "R" Us to pick up the infant.

The infant's mother reportedly called police almost 21 hours after the infant was left at Toys "R" Us and told them Himlin had offered to babysit the child while she was moving. She said she was unable to get in touch with him after that. When she went to Himlin's home, his parents told her he had gotten into a crash and her child was in protective custody.

Himlin is facing child endangerment charges. The investigation is ongoing.

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