Thank you for your compassion and thoughtfulness. And it is so awful that you have to be worried that you could be seen as a predator.

I was thinking perhaps keeping a blanket in one's car for such an emergency...we really ought to have blankets in our cars anyway, for the protection of our own children and ourselves in case of being stranded in that kind of weather. It's basic disaster preparedness.

We should also have water bottles. Of course, that could be seen as evidence of being a predator as well.

A thought for future similar situations should they ever arise:

1. Have those blankets and water in the car.

2. Stay with the child in the car but don't take them anywhere. Instead, call 911.

Thinking about it again, tho, I recall you were on foot instead of in your car, so scratch that for this particular situation.

When my 2nd youngest (of 3 brothers) was small enough to be in diapers, he was found by police walking around the neighborhood with a little friend -- a neighbor child. He had taken his diaper off because...well...it was uncomfortable. But not having the worry about nakedness he just walked outdoors with nothing on his bottom.

He was also barefoot, as was his little friend.

Fortunately it was Arizona. Tuscon to be exact. And it was warm enough & not stormy, so that wasn't a factor in the danger to the toddlers. But of course, he and his friend would have been easy targets for a predator.

But it was 1955, and we weren't much conscious of those things back then.

It is too bad we have to keep those things in mind regarding children. So many ways that it could go wrong. Bless you for what you did.