CLEARFIELD – A Philipsburg man, whose child was found naked near a parking lot, was scheduled for a preliminary hearing Wednesday.
Gage Joseph McGuire, 26, is facing a felony count of endangering the welfare of children and an additional summary charge of disorderly conduct in relation to his alleged actions on June 20.
McGuire waived his right to a preliminary hearing during centralized court Wednesday. He remains in the county jail in lieu of $10,000 bail.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, at 7:41 p.m. on June 20 police received a report of a missing three-year-old boy from the boy’s grandmother. The child was in the care of McGuire.
She told the trooper that her daughter asked her to check on the boy because McGuire had called her saying the boy was missing.
A neighbor told police that he saw the child around 6:00 p.m., standing naked in a parking lot.
When he was questioned, McGuire said he and the child laid down for a nap. Later when he woke up, the child was gone, according to the report.
The trooper described McGuire as being very agitated and noted he appeared to be under the influence of a controlled substance as he paced back and forth and yelled obscenities.
During the search, police discovered a family friend had the child.
This friend said she was contacted by McGuire’s mother who asked her to check on the boy because McGuire was acting weird.
She arrived at the residence at 6:00 p.m. where she found the child, outside naked. When she went inside, she saw McGuire lying in bed.
She reportedly tried several times to wake him up, but was unsuccessful.
That is when she gathered some clothes for the boy and took him to her home.
