CBS4 RTV4 WHBF Quad Cities, IL / IA News Weather Sports9-year-old stranded for several hours at O'Hare

9-year-old stranded for several hours at O'Hare

Associated Press - July 26, 2010 10:04 PM ET

CHICAGO (AP) - Authorities say a 9-year-old boy who was traveling alone and heading home to Canada was stranded for eight hours at O'Hare Airport because a United Airlines employee forgot to get him out of the airline's child-care center and get him to his connecting flight.

The boy was identified by The Ottawa Citizen as Julien Reid, who splits his time between his mother's home in Ottawa and his father's home in San Francisco.

Julien was reportedly left for nearly two hours in a waiting room for unaccompanied minors.

Julien called his mother on his cell phone, and she spoke to a United attendant, who told her that no one had come to get Julien to put him on his flight.

United spokeswoman Megan McCarthy said Monday the airline placed him on the next available flight.

Information from: Chicago Sun-Times, http://www.suntimes.com/index

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.