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Mom: Family 'misunderstanding' led to girl going missing

By Times Staff Writer
Published September 17, 2005

TAMPA - A little less than 12 hours after a meter reader found a 4-year-old girl wandering alone around a convenience store, deputies said the girl's mother called authorities and said the child went missing because of a family misunderstanding. The girl, Jennie Zamora, was found alone at 8:45 a.m. Friday near a One Stop Convenience Store on Waters Avenue by a Tampa Electric Co. meter reader, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.

She gave the meter reader an address in the nearby Bella Vista Apartments.

Sheriff's deputies arrived at the locked apartment, in northwest Tampa, and found only a few items inside, the sheriff's office said. The manager said residents were being evicted.

With no word from family members, Jennie was placed into the custody of the Department of Children and Families. The sheriff's office contacted the media, and the girl's plight was broadcast on television news.

The girl's mother called the sheriff's office Friday evening looking for her daughter and explaining what happened. She said she left for work Friday morning with the understanding that her brother would take Jennie to the babysitter, the sheriff's office said.

But when the brother woke up, the girl was gone. He thought the girl's mother took her to the babysitter.

Jennie remained in DCF custody Friday and would likely stay there overnight, the sheriff's office said. DCF will decide what to do with Jennie from this point on, sheriff's officials said.

[Last modified September 17, 2005, 02:15:31]