I agree with you 100%, SarahEcho!
Walker, you are entitled to your own opinion, but I think you are way off-base to say this man was negligent or to insinuate he had involvement in this crime!
You said his actions were not professional. That's true, but not in the way you think. It's likely he broke whatever formal or informal practices the owner has by helping her at all.
The hotel staff serves the public, and that requires being prepared to help in medical emergencies. Travelers frequently have emergencies. He could have asked the owner if he weren't sure.
He did not have authority to give her a room for free. That's why he paid for half out of his own pocket.
Someone did have such authority. Who did he call?
"A child is desperately ill. We called a taxi to bring him and his mom to the ER, but now the mother can't pay for the room. What should I do?"
Owner Response 1: "Kick 'em both out in the street pronto."
or
Owner Response 2: "Don't worry. We will write it off as charity."
Really, what is more likely?
He is the night manager at a small motel in a sleepy town on the New Hamsphire Seacoast. From Sept. through May, most rooms are rented to locals who stay for the long off-season. These people are probably working hard to keep their heads above water themselves. This is not the night manager of the Plaza Hotel.
All hotels and motels have to be prepared to deal with medical emergencies and unfortunately criminal activity.
He helped her get a room by paying for half of it. He asked if she needed money for food. He was looking out for them in the morning but the truck was already gone.
Helping people is not easy, and just handing people cash is not helping them. Look at what happened. Camden didn't need a free room, he needed a doctor and for someone to ask his mother difficult questions. Camden didn't need for his mother to have cash "for food;" he needed food itself. And, the manager's watchfulness the next day only proves that he felt suspicious of the woman's behavior.
The night manager is quoted as saying that maybe he shouldn't have helped her.
He didn't help her or Camden.
All that means is that he is feeling that somehow maybe that would have changed the course of events and Camden would still be alive. This man would not even be interviewed on camera because he is too distraught.
You can call local police if you suspect a child is in danger. The mother was traveling with no money, and the manager himself thought that maybe they didn't even have food. Camden was an endangered child.
I haven't read anywhere that Camden was seriously ill or drugged up. Perhaps he was. But if that was the case, it seems likely that this man would have gone further. I think he was a weary little boy. Driving from Texas to NH will do that! A good night's sleep when we're driving long distances does wonders for my kids.
Just go back and read the quote.
I posted upthread about how the people who had turned JM down when she asked for help could not have known what she was about to do and that I will think of Camden when deciding to get involved with someone in distress. Well, it turns out, that someone did help her and yet she killed her son.
Handing someone cash is not help. Realizing that the child is endangered and reporting the situation is help. Camden was not helped at all.
There is not much else besides a place to stay and the offer of money for food that could have been done for Julianne and Camden that Friday night. He stepped up to the plate and did it.
He did nothing to help the situation.
Helping people isn't easy. Perhaps he risked feeling embarrassed that maybe the local police would think that he was a busybody. Anyone who has ever traveled knows that not having any money or access to money is dangerous.
The child was endangered in that situation. Obviously.
This man went above and beyond what anyone could have expected of him. I think he is a hero. The goodness of the motel's night manager and the people of South Berwick are the only redeeming aspects of this tragedy!
No, he didn't help at all. He should have insisted on an explanation for the child's condition. Any well-meaning parent would have been more than glad to talk about it. Then, he should have called the local police. They can offer emergency assistance to people who are homeless, without money or food or in need of medical attention.
Even if he only thought the child was tired; the mother told him that she had no money to pay for a room. That alone is a dangerous situation.
