It’s every parent’s worst nightmare.
Emma Rooney was out with her little boy in the city centre of Liverpool, when she got separated from him.
Due to the large crowds for a football match and the pride march, the three-year-old quickly vanished from sight - leaving Emma absolutely distraught.
But the mother-of-three said thanks to the "old, young, teenage and homeless" who helped in the frantic search for the toddler, Leon was found safe and well.
Now, taking to Facebook, Emma has attempted to reach as many people as possible, in a bid to thank each and every single person who helped find her son.
To everyone who reads this please SHARE as far as you can in the hope that I can thank with all my heart the people of... > >
Posted by [Emma Rooney](#) on [Saturday, 1 August 2015](https://en-gb.facebook.com/mrsroo81/posts/10153472180602311)
She wrote:
*To everyone who reads this, please SHARE as far as you can in the hope that I can thank with all my heart the people of Liverpool - which at the time felt like hundreds - from old, young, teenage and the homeless. *
*You helped me find my boy, Leon, aged 3 years old. *
He went missing today in Liverpool City centre.
*My heart was broken as he ran off and out of sight and didn't come back. *
*But the people of Liverpool, strangers who knows know nothing of me or my family, stopped in their tracks to help me find him… you did everything you could and I cannot thank you enough. *
*To Merseyside police, thank you. Thank you for arriving so fast. Thank you for doing everything you could to find my baby. Thank you for being so kind. *
*But THANK YOU to the people who found him, who knew he was alone and didn't leave his side until he was back with his family. *
I thanked all of you that I saw at the time and to those that I didn’t, and that read this, THANK YOU.
I LOVE the people of LIVERPOOL.
This is the reason there were Four Police Cars in Church Street Yesterday, and Emma, the Mum of 3 Year Old Leon, wants... > >
Posted by [The Four Squares](https://www.facebook.com/TheFourSquares) on [Sunday, 2 August 2015](https://en-gb.facebook.com/TheFourSquares/posts/10153152884882991:0)
Emma’s message has been shared almost 20,000 times on the Four Squares Community Facebook page and has 45,184 likes since it was uploaded on 2 August.
It wasn’t the only special tribute to the toddler’s rescue on Facebook, however; the little tot’s father, Del Rooney, also shared an image of his son being hugged by Emma as police officers and bystanders stood watching, with smiles on their faces.
Speaking with the Liverpool Echo, he explained that he burst into tears when the whole street stopped and tried to help find his son. "The support was just overwhelming. You will never get that anywhere else in the world. That was a truly remarkable experience the way the people of Liverpool came together.
“I’m glad this has got quite a few likes as it makes people aware the people of Liverpool are best people in the world."
What a wonderful story - we’re so glad to hear that Del and Emma’s son was found safe and well.