According to WOWT-TV, employees at Madsen's Bowling and Billiards in Lincoln said a customer alerted them that the young child was stuck inside the claw machine.

"There must have be 25 people surrounding him but he didn't notice anybody," witness Rachell Hildreth told KETV. "He was just inside playing with the stuffed animals."

The mother was reunited with her son and is not facing any charges.

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Carleigh Knight (left) and her sister, Natalie Rogovin, look at Christmas ornaments while shopping at Kudzu Antiques + Modern in Decatur on Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2025. (Natrice Miller/AJC)

Credit: Natrice Miller