Father charged after allegedly leaving three children in a car at a service station overnight

A Queensland father has been charged after he allegedly left his children in a car at a service station overnight.

A father has been charged after his three missing children were found at a Queensland service station on Monday morning.

Police will allege the man failed to provide reasonable care and supervision to the children who went missing on Sunday afternoon and were last seen about 4pm.

The children were believed to have been with a man known to them earlier on Sunday before they left an address in Paradise Point about 4.30pm.

The car was last seen leaving Paradise Point, and police believe it was headed towards the Logan area.

The children were found safe on Monday after police were called to a 7-Eleven along Rochester Drive in Mount Warren Park about 7am.

The children are alleged to have been in the car overnight by themselves before they walked to the 7-Eleven, where an employee contacted police.

Detective Acting Superintendent Mark White said the children’s father had been arrested on other unrelated charges. Photo: Marc Robertson.

The father has since been charged with three counts each of cruelty to children under 16 years and leaving a child under 12 unattended.

“We will be conducting a further criminal investigation as to why those children were allegedly in a car overnight by themselves at Mount Warren Park,” Detective White said.

“There will be a medical assessment of the children to ensure that they are safe and well, and if they do require any medical treatment for anything that we get that done straight away.”

Detective White said police are still seeking more information on the incident, and urged anyone who may have seen the children or the car travelling between the Gold Coast and Logan between 4.30pm and 10pm last night, to come forward and contact police.

Police previously issued an amber alert to help find the children with concerns they could have been at “significant risk”.

The father is due to appear in the Beenleigh Magistrates Court on Tuesday.

Originally published as Father charged after allegedly leaving three children in a car at a service station overnight