"Thank you for finding her:" Heaven Spates' father thanks strangers who helped his daughter on COLD night

MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- A concerned citizen made a shocking discovery on one of the coldest nights of the year. A three-year-old girl was found wandering alone near N. 15th and Clarke Street on a night when it was dangerous to be outside even for a few minutes. So how did this happen?

Temperatures were potentially deadly early Thursday morning, January 8th -- 11° below zero BEFORE factoring in the wind chill.

But three-year-old Heaven Spates apparently didn't mind the bitter cold. Police say she woke up in the middle of the night, and wanted to play outside.

"I'm just wondering where her parents were at and how she got out," a neighbor said.

It turns out, Spates' parents were sound asleep, and had no idea the little girl, wearing only her jacket and green flannel pajamas had gotten outside. She locked the door behind her, and couldn't get back inside.

"We put her to bed. An hour later she ended up outside of the home. All the doors were locked. Freaked me out a little bit, you know?" Spates' father said.

Spates' father spoke with FOX6 News because he says he wants to thank the concerned citizen who discovered Spates alone near 15th and Clarke and called police.

Spates was taken to MPD's District 5 police station -- but it wasn't until FOX6 WakeUp News aired her picture that her parents were found.

"A friend called. I woke up to a phone call that my daughter was on the news and I couldn't believe it, and her mother saw it and we knew she was outside the house. It was a shock to us. We take good care of our kids. She goes to school. It's kind of weird for me," Spates' father said.

What complicated things a bit is that while the little girl told police her name, she has a difficult time saying the letter "s." Police were looking for the parents of Heaven Bates, when her last name is actually Spates.

"I put on more locks, you know, just to make sure she can't get out of the house," Spates' father said.

Spates' father says he's just overwhelmed everything worked out and his daughter is safe, thanks to the help of kind strangers on a brutally cold night.

"Thank you for finding her. Thank you for being good people. God just blessed us, you know?" Spates' father said.

Milwaukee police and Child Protective Services did a follow up investigation, and no citations will be issued in this case.