Neighbors described a harrowing scene outside a Butler home where a young child was spotted on a second-story roof in frigid temperatures wearing no pants, diapers or shoes Sunday morning.

The scary sight about 8:40 a.m. on South Street caused next-door neighbor Victor Gould to throw caution to the cold wind. The 59-year-old Gould sprang into action, scaling a porch railing to rescue the 3-year-old girl.

“She was pretty cold but she seemed alright,” Gould said. “She’s lucky because if she’d have fallen, she’d have fallen 12 feet.”

Butler police Deputy Chief David Adam said the case remains under investigation and charges are pending against the child’s father for not supervising his daughter.

The toddler, after being rescued, told authorities that her father had been sleeping.

The thrill of the season’s first snow fall apparently caused the little girl’s predicament.

“She told us that she seen snow for the first time and got excited,” Gould said.

She opened an upstairs window and climbed out onto the plastic porch roof. She then closed the window before sliding down the end of the roof.

“Thank God she didn’t fall off,” Gould said.

Gould’s daughter happened by her parents’ house for a visit and was the first to see the girl in trouble. The Gould clan did not know how long the toddler had been alone on the roof.

She was dressed only in a large sweater.

Gould wasted no time trying to help the tot, who he and his wife know well.

“She’s a very polite little girl,” he said. “We give her Popsicles in the summer.”

He made his way over to the house, noticing how slippery it was due to the snow and ice.

It was so slick that he had to remove his shoes to keep his balance on the railing to a side porch.

“I reached up and she gave me her hand,” he said. “I told her to let go of the other hand, that I would grab her.”

He was true to his word and quickly whisked the girl to his house, where she was tend to and treated to a bowl of cereal.

His family had already called 911 and police and Butler firefighters soon got there. A Butler Ambulance Service crew later arrived and checked out the girl for any injuries.

The toddler’s feet were “very red” from the cold, a fire department report said, but she apparently was otherwise in good health.

Gould said police later found the girl’s father at the house. But Adam could not confirm that because the investigating officer’s report was not completed.

The Butler County Children & Youth Services was notified and an agency official also joined in the investigation. The girl was eventually turned over to her grandmother’s custody.

The grandfather of eight, Gould has a soft spot for children. He said he was happy to help.