A barefoot young girl wearing only pajamas was heartbreakingly captured begging to be let back inside her Oklahoma foster home as she stood outdoors in record-breaking freezing temperatures.
Rhet Wike, who lives in the same Haskell neighborhood, went outside to investigate what sounded like a small child’s screams that he had heard from inside his own home on Tuesday afternoon, 2 News Oklahoma reported.
He called 911 after he discovered a distressed coatless and shoeless little girl, wearing only pink pajamas and yelling that she was cold and wanted to come back inside.
‘It’s scary man,’ Wike told Fox 23 News. ‘The little girl needs to be out of there. I don’t believe she’s safe at all.’
The shocking discovery came at around 4pm Tuesday afternoon, when Wike heard the sounds of childlike pleas coming from right outside his home.
He and his wife had heard similar ‘hollering’ sounds coming from the same home a few weeks prior, but this time was different, Fox 23 reported.
Haskell was experiencing record-breaking freezing temperatures as it was 12 degrees out on Tuesday – or just below zero degrees if taking the snow and wind chill into consideration.
‘I immediately was like, okay, I’m not wasting time,’ Wike told Fox 23. ‘I ran outside, got my phone, took a real short video so I could have proof because I know how it goes man, and then called police – they were there really quick.’
A man who lives in the Haskell, Oklahoma, neighborhood captured a barefoot young girl wearing only pajamas begging to be let back inside her foster home as she stood in record-breaking freezing temperatures in the snow
While the neighbor was calling 911 the foster father came out and told the little girl to ‘quit whining’ before he pushed her back outside and closed the door as he went back into the warm home
‘She was standing on a wheelchair ramp, like an aluminum ramp, and just freezing dude,’ he added. ‘No socks or shoes on. Just wearing pajamas screaming I’m cold.’
The video, which has since sparked massive outrage on social media, showed the barefoot child standing outside the door as she constantly shifted back and forth on her feet, attempting to avoid the freezing temperatures.
Clearly distraught, the girl can be heard repeatedly saying ‘I’m cold. I’m cold.’
Wike’s anger only intensified when the girl’s foster father opened the door and appallingly denied her heartbreaking pleas for warmth – all while Wike was on the phone with authorities.
‘The foster dad, he had come out on the back porch and the baby was trying to push through him,’ Wike told Fox 23.
‘He’s telling her “no, no you got to stop whining” and he pushed her back and he goes back inside the warm house!’
Although it is unclear how long the child was outside for, Wike told Fox 56 News that she was suffering for at least 10 minutes before police arrived.
‘I think it was about 10 or 11 minutes,’ he told Fox 23. ‘She was obviously distressed. She had not just been put out there. Her feet were red. She was freaking out.’
Rhet Wike, the neighbor who recorded the heartbreaking video, discovered the shocking scene after he heard the sounds of childlike pleas coming from right outside his home
The video, which has since sparked massive outrage on social media, showed the barefoot child standing outside the door as she constantly shifted back and forth on her feet, attempting to avoid the freezing temperatures
Both police officers and a case worker with DHS arrived on the scene and left after an hour. The DHS worker decided to leave the girl in the home with the couple, who police said they are planning to press charges against.
Haskell officers also spoke to Wike inside his home, where they allegedly informed him that the foster mother admitted to the act.
‘She showed him her rule list, that it’s what she got to do,’ Wike told Fox 23. ‘He said it’s not f***ing acceptable and that’s exactly how he spoke to me. You’re going to dress her God d*** appropriately. That’s the words he used, like he was mad.’
The probable cause affidavit claimed that the mother told police that the girl was outside for no longer than two minutes and that she had refused to wear shoes, 2 News Oklahoma reported.
The foster mother also claimed that the young girl was only out there because she was in a disciplinary time out. However, police told the family that their punishing methods were not weather appropriate.
‘In decent weather with shoes, sure, that makes sense – go sit down and think about it for a second,’ Wike told the outlet. ‘But to shove them out into a blizzard?’
Fox23 station used a thermometer gun on the metal side of the ramp the little girl was standing on, which showed the temperature being as cold as -6 and -12 degrees at midday. In these conditions, frostbite can occur in just a matter of minutes.
The affidavit also mentioned how a representative for the Oklahoma Department of Human Services was on the scene the day after the incident where they talked to police, 2 News reported.
Haskell was experiencing record-breaking freezing temperatures as it was 12 degrees out on the day of the incident – or just below zero degrees if taking the snow and wind chill into consideration
A representative for the Oklahoma Department of Human Services was on the scene the day after the incident where they told police that ‘they have no concerns for the health and well-being of the children in the home’
The representative told officers that ‘they have no concerns for the health and well-being of the children in the home and that the method for “resetting” was likely more effective at reaching a resolution than forcing the child to put shoes on.’
Wike filed his own report with Oklahoma Human Services. In response, the department issued a statement, which said: ‘The safety and well being of our state’s children, particularly those in foster care, are top priorities for Oklahoma Human Services.’
‘We are aware of this situation but are unable to offer additional details at this time,’ the statement added. ‘However, we want to reassure the public that all safety concerns related to this situation are being addressed.’
Haskell police also submitted a child abuse complaint to the Muskogee County District Attorney – urging them to consider charges, KFOR News reported.
Wike said that he shared the video because he figured that more eyes would lead to a bigger impact from those who share the same belief – the little girl should be in a safer home.
‘Someone is going to be held accountable for sure,’ Wike told 2 News. ‘If you have enough people who know what’s going on, someone is going to do something about it.’
Hundreds of people fled the comments where they shared their anger and frustration at what they had seen in the video.
‘I have heard so many horror stories,’ one comment read. ‘The system is broken and needs to be fixed, this is unacceptable!’
Haskell police submitted a child abuse complaint to the Muskogee County District Attorney – urging them to consider charges
Wike filed his own report with Oklahoma Human Services. In response, the department issued a statement, which said: ‘The safety and well being of our state’s children, particularly those in foster care, are top priorities for Oklahoma Human Services’
Another read: ‘How she must have hurt in this cold. Don’t know how those fosters could do that. Their license as a foster carer should be revoked immediately.’
‘People who do that to a child are cruel, sick, abusive monsters. They deserve to be prosecuted and jailed. Why aren’t people complaining about DHS putting a child in homes like that. Sick twisted state workers with criminal foster caregivers,’ a third read.
‘I hope they are arrested,’ Wike told Fox 23 in regards to the foster parents.
‘I would hope that foster family is barred from ever having any kids again, would go to jail, and I hope that the mother would be able to get custody back of that baby.’
