Well, the article says the kids were walking home from a park around a mile from home. Did the person who called 911 know the kids? How exactly did they know they weren't in the presence of an adult somewhere? I see calling the police as kind of an extreme response. Like, did you go talk to the kids? edit: The kids even have these Lanyards that are like "Dawg, I'm not lost, my parents just trust me enough to go to the park by myself" Considering these parent's style of parenting which means that the kids are out and about alone a fair bit, I think it's not unlikely that this is some nosy mom who thinks she knows better than the parents, and called the police to "teach them a lesson". Its probably sad that that is my first thought, and not "this person was legitimately concerned for the children".