Dad neglects kids on Father's Day--was passed out drunk (Waldport, Oregon)

Dad neglects kids on Father's Day--was passed out drunk (Waldport, Oregon)

Police: Dad Neglected Kids On Father's Day
Father Accused Of Passing Out Drunk In Field
POSTED: 11:55 am PDT June 22, 2009
UPDATED: 12:11 pm PDT June 22, 2009

WALDPORT, Ore. -- Two children spent Father's day wandering the streets of Waldport looking for their dad who was passed out drunk in a field, deputies said.

The family was at an outdoor concert on Sunday and witnesses reported seeing Alfredo Medina-Ortiz, 20, of Waldport, drinking heavily, deputies said.

At about 9:45 p.m. a Lincoln County deputy was flagged down by a person who said a baby was found in the road in the area of Highway 34 and John Street, deputies said.

Medina-Ortiz's two children -- a 1-year-old son and an 8-year-old daughter -- were left alone at the concert and couldn't find their father, deputies said.

When the 8-year-old wasn't able to find her father or brother, she called her grandfather to come pick her up. When he came to get her, he found her brother by himself on the sidewalk on the corner of Highway 34 and John Street, deputies said.

Investigators found Medina-Ortiz passed out drunk in a field nearby, deputies said. They arrested him on charges of child neglect.

The two children weren't harmed and were released to their grandparents.