Losing Theo

It was a fine, sunny day when Sydney, Lucy and Theo headed across the street to play in the creek that runs through the neighborhood.  This made me very happy, as I have great memories of traipsing around in the creek by our house as a kid.  About 20 min later, Theo came busting back through the door, racing for the bathroom.  When he was done and on his way back out, I cautioned him about crossing the street.  "Look BOTH ways, right?"  Of course, Mom.

About 40 minutes later it was time for dinner and Rachel went to call them in.  Sydney- check. Lucy- check.  Theo-  where's Theo?  No Theo. "We thought he stayed inside after he went to use the bathroom."
Wait, no one has seen Theo for forty minutes?

A jumble of thoughts in my head.  Drowned?  The creek is pretty low.  Abducted?  He is pretty cute, and he was by himself.  But sooo unlikely, right?  Hiding?  He wasn't pouting, and 40 min is a long time for a 5 yr old to hide.  So we start calling and walking the streets.  I call my neighbor to help us look.  I think about when to call the police.  Rachel turns on her 'hunting for small animals' spidey sense and heads back down to canvas the creek.  Sydney and Lucy make a lot of disclaimers.

In a few minutes, I see a fancy car come around the bend at the far end of the street, driving more slowly than cars usually do.  It stops near someone walking their dog, then starts slowly again.  Suddenly I'm pretty sure this has something to do with us...and sure enough, there is Theo, sitting in the passenger seat.  A nice lady had noticed him sitting in some bushes on the side of the road.  She said their conversation went like this:

Lady:  Are you lost, little boy?
Theo:  Yes.  Yes I am.

Here's my post-game analysis:

Good: Theo is still alive and living in our house.  He kind of knew his address.  He was smart enough to talk to an adult to get some help. The adult could understand him.  Also, I was actually looking for him by the time the stranger brought him home, which seems better than the other option.

Bad: I am going to have to watch the kids more closely, as this is the second time I've lost a kid in 2 weeks.  Also, I realized I'd never had the 'getting into a car with a stranger' talk. ("It was a good idea today, but usually would be a bad idea.")  Also, he said, "She told me she was a nurse, so I knew she wasn't a robber."  Hmmm.