Babysitter's night turns into ordeal as parents vanish prompting police call

A babysitter was left in a state of panic after the parents she was working for failed to return home from a wedding. Sharing her ordeal on Reddit, she explained that she had been hired to look after a 13-week-old baby boy and his two year old sister while their parents attended a wedding.

The event was scheduled to run from 5pm - 11pm and everything went smoothly with the children, who were tucked up in bed by 7.30pm. However, at 10.15 pm she received a text from the parents asking if she could stay until midnight, which she agreed to, reports the Irish Star.

But when 12.15 am rolled around, there was still no sign of them. Growing increasingly anxious, she sent a text to ask if they were close but received no response.

Her mind began to race with thoughts of accidents and other potential disasters, and after failing to get through to them on the phone, she started scouring social media for news of any car accidents. By 2am the parents were still not back, despite her having called them around 15 times.

She considered calling the police but didn't want to disturb the sleeping children. Hoping that the parents would walk through the door at any moment, she held off from making the call until 5 am.

With still no word from the parents, she decided it was time to report them missing to the police. She recalled: "The police showed up at 5.22am. and took a statement from me. I was asked for the parents' numbers, and the police asked if I could stay with the kids until they could figure out what exactly they're going to do."

As the police arrived on scene, the neighbours began to gather and eventually, at 5.48am the parents arrived home to be met by the police. Fearing the worst, the mum rushed out, concerned for the health of her children.

The parents then explained that their phones had run out of battery and they didn't know how to get home from the venue.

Clearly unimpressed by the lacklustre excuse, the babysitter wrote: "I was fuming! I called them irresponsible and the worst parents I've ever worked for. I demanded she pay me on the spot, and I left."

"I received a lengthy message about how this is my job and I'm a huge jerk for disrespecting them and calling the police. She felt like I could've left them with the neighbours or called the emergency contacts, not the police."

People sided with her in the comments, saying the parent's excuse was weak. One commenter said: "Who in 2024 would let their phone die, especially as a parent of two very small children and when they know they need their phone to get directions to home."

"Both of their phones died and they spent six hours trying to find their way home? I seriously doubt that. They are wildly irresponsible and disrespectful. You shouldn't babysit for them again."