He’s Smart, Polite And Abandoned

Store employees found a polite, intelligent 4-year-old wandering unattended through a Toys “R” Us store in Brooklyn. They waited for someone looking for a lost boy, but no one turned up and they called police.

That was on March 21.

Today, even as he tells people the names of his parents and other relatives, Jonathan Adams is still in foster care waiting for them.

On Sunday, he gave child welfare officials a hint that he might be from North Carolina.

City officials said Jonathan showed no signs of neglect or abuse.

“He seems to be very well-taken-care-of - he’s smart, he knows his numbers, his alphabet,” said Nicholas Scoppetta, commissioner of the Administration for Children’s Services.

“He’s obviously very bright. He can name his mother, his father, his brothers and sisters. … Yet no one has reported him missing. There seems to be no indication, at least in New York, that someone is looking for him. It’s astonishing.”

Jonathan talks about a mother named Tameeka, a father named Bernard, a brother named Brendan and a sister named Sheteria, said Maggie Lear, a spokeswoman for the children’s services agency. He also talks about a grandmother, uncle and aunt.

“A lot of people have obviously loved this little boy,” Lear told reporters. “A lot of people took care of him. Where are they? It’s just a strange, strange case.”

On Sunday, Jonathan gave investigators a new lead.

“We showed him a globe today and a map. Twice on the globe and also on the map, he picked out North Carolina when asked where are we now,” Lear said.