Missing Boy Found Inside A Bowling Alley Claw Machine

What kid wouldn't want to find themselves inside the claw machine where all of the coveted prizes are crammed together? Fantastic as that may be from the child's perspective, it's probably a bit more unnerving for a parent. Such was the case for the 24-year-old mother who called 911 when her 3-year-old child went missing. The little boy was eventually found inside a claw machine at a local bowling alley. As you might guess, the kid was happily playing with stuffed animals inside the machine before he was safely extracted.

CBS News reported the incident, which sounds like it ended with the child being returned to his mother without injury. So the story goes, the mother noticed her son was missing from her Lincoln, Nebraska home on Monday night. The child slipped out of the unlocked apartment while she was in the bathroom. She called the cops. Meanwhile, a customer at the bowling alley across the street noticed the toddler inside the claw machine and alerted employees. The site goes on to say that the mother of the child won't receive any citations for the incident because she acted quickly and appropriately.

It's unclear how kid got into the machine, and we might assume he crawled in there through the prize-drop door, assuming it was big enough for a toddler to squeeze through. I'm getting claustrophobic just thinking about that. But the report over at 1011Now.com notes that it would've been really difficult for the boy to get into the machine through the prize drop because of the way it's set up on the inside.

It's actually a bit unnerving, not only wondering how he managed to get into the machine, but also the thought of him crossing the street on his own. But it sounds like the situation was dealt with and the child is ok.

As for claw machines, they'll continue to be a weakness of mine. In addition to the sweet rush of victory that comes from winning a (usually useless) prize that costs too many quarters, these machines often give me a flashback of the 80s music video for George Harrison's "I've Got My Mind Set On You," where the 1950s-looking guy spends all his "spending money" trying to win a ballerina toy for his arcade crush...

There's also that Toy Story scene...