Dad Forgets Son in Car for 25 Hours: Father Was Drunk, 3-Year-Old is OK, Say Calif. Cops

PASADENA, Calif. (CBS/AP) A 3-year-old boy who was lost for 25 hours after his drunken father left him strapped in a car seat was in protective custody Monday, authorities said.

Dylan Kurihara of West Covina was found asleep in a Lexus in a Pasadena parking garage Sunday night.

The boy was slightly dehydrated but in good shape, police Sgt. Ed Calatayud said.

The boy was being held Monday by Los Angeles County child welfare officials until his home life is investigated, said the sergeant.

"They had to verify some of the living conditions," he said. "It's typical in the neglect case."

The father, 23-year-old Joe Kurihara, remained jailed on suspicion of child endangerment.

The boy and his parents, who are not married, attended a wedding on Saturday night at a Masonic temple in the northeastern Los Angeles suburb, police said.

Dylan and his father were seen leaving after the reception. The father apparently placed the child in a car seat and drove about a quarter-mile to the parking garage, Calatayud said.

About an hour later, the father was spotted walking alone on a street and arrested on suspicion of public intoxication and obstructing his arrest. He did not mention the boy and apparently had no memory of having placed him in the car seat, Calatayud said.

"It wasn't until the mother called...that it came to light that a child was missing," he said.

The mother, whose name was not released, had been calling hospitals and police stations looking for her son, her wayward domestic partner and his car, police said.

Rowdy Metzger, 39, heard about the missing boy and began searching for him. He found the boy in the car, tapped on the window and woke him up, he told KTLA-TV.

"The door was open. I opened it. He got a little scared. I called out his name. I told him he'd be OK," Metzger said. "I kept giving a thumb's up signal because I didn't know if he would understand me, if he was in shock or whatever. I called 911. I just talking to him until the police came."

"He acted on his compassion. I guess he has kids of his own," Calatayud said.