Mom: Boy not with parents when put in washing machine

Video: Man places toddler in washing machine

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2. Closed captioning of: Man places toddler in washing machine

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   >> are trying to track down the parents of a little boy who was put in a washing machine by his father, and then became trapped. natalie is here with that story.

   >> and we should warn our viewers the video may be disturbing to watch. we want to say the little boy involved is fine. but the video, which already has millions of hits on the web, is sure to get the hearts racing of any parent. it shows how within seconds, a simple prank can turn into a terrifying ordeal. this disturbing surveillance video captures the moment that a became of peekaboo apparently between father and soon quickly turned to terror at a new jersey laundromat. with the boy's mother looking on, the man picked up the boy and placed him inside the washing machine , shutting the door. but the man soon realized that this was no laughing matter when he tried to open the door and it wouldn't budge. frantic, the woman screamed for help, as the little boy was tossed around in the machine. the laundromat's owner told the fox tv station in philadelphia she couldn't believe what was happening.

   >> playing peekaboo with the child in a dryer and in a washer? that's ridiculous!

   >> reporter: a quick-thinking store employee raced to the machine, shoved away the tables, and shut off its circuit breaker . but with the power off, even he couldn't open the washer's doors, overcome with anxiety the father jumped impatiently and the mother pounded the nearby tables. finally, after 67 heart-wrenching seconds, the employee was able to pry open the door and return the little boy to his parents.

   >> he's a hero, you know. he saved the child's life.

   >> reporter: workers at the laundromat called the police when the incident happened but the family had already left for the hospital. they say the father returned about an hour later to pick up their clothes and told employees his son was okay. but authorities are now looking for that family, and the case has been referred to child welfare authorities, as well, matt, and ann. it's hard to see --

   >> nothing funny about that story.

   >> not at all.

   >> all right, natalie, thanks very much.

   >>> just ahead, new scrutiny for the tanning industry in the wake of that jersey tan mom case. are some salons ignoring laws that bar kids

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