Ohio dad charged after leaving children ages 2, 4 and 8 unattended at Cedar Point

An Ohio dad faces a child endangerment charge accusing him of leaving his 8-year-old daughter in charge of watching her 2- and 4-year-old siblings while he rode roller coasters at Cedar Point with another daughter.

Sandusky police say a parkgoer alerted Cedar Point security around 9 p.m. Friday that a 2-year-old girl was "playing in the dirt" by the Magnum roller coaster with no parents in sight.

Police say park security took the young girl to an unattended wagon with a 4-year-old girl inside that was spotted near the Corkscrew roller coaster.

According to the police report, security waited some 20 minutes before the father, a 36-year-old from Seneca County, returned with his 9-year-old daughter after riding the Corkscrew. The Beacon Journal is not publishing the name of the father to shield the identity of the minor children.

The father told officers that he left the children with another daughter, 8, who was supposed to look after them while he rode the coaster with the 9-year-old.

"He advised that he was only in line for only a couple of minutes and then returned to his children," the police report states. "It should be noted that the ride was shut down during this time for at least 20 minutes while (the father) was waiting in line."

The father admitted to officers, according to the police report, that he also left the 8-year-old in charge while he and his 9-year-old daughter rode the Gatekeeper roller coaster earlier in the day but "he could see his other three children while he was in line."

He told Sandusky police that he left the younger children unattended to ride as many as three times at the park.

Police say after consulting with Sandusky Municipal Judge Erich O'Brien, the father was released on his own recognizance the night of the incident because there was no one else to care for the children at the park.

The incident has been reported to the Seneca County Department of Job and Family Services.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Ohio dad charged after leaving children ages 2, 4 and 8 unattended at Cedar Point