The Carrollton Police Department found a 7-year-old boy who had wandered off almost three miles away from his home on New Year's Day.

The officers found the boy on the side of the road near the intersection of Highway 27 and Stripling Chapel Road in Carrollton.

The boy had left his home on Shady Valley Court in the Oak Mountain Park neighborhood with his dog. He was picked up by police about an hour later about 2.5 miles away.

Capt. Chris Dobbs said the boy’s mother had called police around 8:40 a.m. on Jan. 1 when she couldn’t find her son.

“He was not gone very long, and we were able to get him back to his house safely,” Dobbs said.

Police suggest that parents keep a current picture of their child easily accessible if he or she go missing to help neighbors and law enforcement identify the child on the streets. Also, they suggest paying close attention to what the child is wearing each day.

Parents who find themselves missing a child will want to be able to quickly provide as many descriptive details as they can, and ID cards or information sheets can be a good tool to get a child’s information out fast.

Police and child advocates say informing all school staff if a child has elopement issues will keep teachers on the lookout if they see him or her heading toward a door.

There are also technological gadgets that alert parents when their children leave and can help parents track them. For the home, a parent can consider door and window alarms or motion sensors.

There are also personal GPS devices such as LoJack and products found on LifeProtekt that could help locate a child if he or she goes missing.

For serious wanderers, an ID bracelet could be placed on a child’s wrist or ankle that could tell first responders what a child might not be able to.

Another option is to go with ink. SafetyTat offers a variety of child identification temporary tattoos that will let an adult know where the child should be.