Washing Machine Tot Found
Mother comes forward after video of boy in washing machine goes viral-->By: Ray Doughty
Updated: May 26, 2012
Investigators believe they've found the toddler featured in a disturbing surveillance video that shows the child trapped in a laundromat washing machine.
The video was shot on May 11 at a laundromat in Camden, New Jersey and drew millions of hits after being posted on YouTube and other Internet sites.
It shows a man putting the child, later identified as Saimeir David, in the machine, apparently as part of a "peek-a-boo" game.
He then shut the door, which locked and started an automatic cycle with the child inside.
The man and a woman frantically pulled on the door for a few seconds as the child continued to spin, then ran to get help.
Kong Ena, an employee at the laundromat, then quickly unplugged the machine, and the child, who did not appear to be hurt, was pulled to safety.
Workers called police when the incident happened.
The woman and the man in the video were not present when police arrived however because they had taken Saimeir to the hospital to make sure he was alright.
The unidentified man in the video later came back to collect his laundry about an hour later and claimed the boy was okay.
Authorities say the matter does not appear to be criminal, but it has been referred to the state's Division of Youth and Family Services.
Investigators initially believed the man who placed Saimeir into the machine was the boy's father.
The boy's mother Sakia David told NBC News that was not the case.
According to David, the woman in the video was the girlfriend of Saimeir's father who was babysitting the child at the time.
David says she doesn't know who the man in the video is.
David also says she didn't even know about the incident until she watched the video on the news and thought she recognized the woman.
She says when she confronted the woman about the incident, the woman denied it happened.
"She said it wasn't her," said David. "But when the cops came this morning to my house and told me to come outside, I knew it was my baby."
David says police later questioned the babysitter who admitted it was her in the video.
The video was shot on May 11 at a laundromat in Camden, New Jersey and drew millions of hits after being posted on YouTube and other Internet sites.
It shows a man putting the child, later identified as Saimeir David, in the machine, apparently as part of a "peek-a-boo" game.
He then shut the door, which locked and started an automatic cycle with the child inside.
The man and a woman frantically pulled on the door for a few seconds as the child continued to spin, then ran to get help.
Kong Ena, an employee at the laundromat, then quickly unplugged the machine, and the child, who did not appear to be hurt, was pulled to safety.
Workers called police when the incident happened.
The woman and the man in the video were not present when police arrived however because they had taken Saimeir to the hospital to make sure he was alright.
The unidentified man in the video later came back to collect his laundry about an hour later and claimed the boy was okay.
Authorities say the matter does not appear to be criminal, but it has been referred to the state's Division of Youth and Family Services.
Investigators initially believed the man who placed Saimeir into the machine was the boy's father.
The boy's mother Sakia David told NBC News that was not the case.
According to David, the woman in the video was the girlfriend of Saimeir's father who was babysitting the child at the time.
David says she doesn't know who the man in the video is.
David also says she didn't even know about the incident until she watched the video on the news and thought she recognized the woman.
She says when she confronted the woman about the incident, the woman denied it happened.
"She said it wasn't her," said David. "But when the cops came this morning to my house and told me to come outside, I knew it was my baby."
David says police later questioned the babysitter who admitted it was her in the video.
