5-year-old vanishes from after-school program, found one mile away in McDonald’s: Parents slam ‘unbelievable’ lapse

On Nov. 4, Oliver, 5, went missing from a car for an entire 3 hours while at an after-school program at North Park Elementary School in Valencia, California. Luckily, his nanny just so happened to run into him 1 mile away from the elementary school, and now the parents have moved to report the institution to the school district’s governing board.

People report that at 12:20 pm, Oliver was dismissed from classes, and at that point, nobody from the institution could guarantee where exactly Oliver was. All that is certain at this moment is that Oliver’s nanny spotted him at McBean Parkway’s McDonald’s outlet. The nanny panicked and called his parents, Brett and Natalie.

Natalie immediately reached out to the school, which told her that, to the best of their knowledge, Oliver was still in the vicinity, which infuriated the parents. That means that in 3 entire hours, nobody had checked up on their son. Brett told the press, “The only reason we are not planning a funeral, or still possibly searching for our missing child tonight, is blind luck, and not because the people we trusted to protect him were doing their job.”

It could have been so much worse

There have been so many stories of parents who don’t take their parenting seriously. There have been parents who have been arrested for shooting their toddlers; some have been arrested for exposing their children to guns and narcotics. So it’s understandable when parents who try their best get so frustrated when someone else lapses on their behalf. And Brett and Natalie have made it clear they intend to ensure the school never makes this mistake again.

Saugus Union School District Superintendent Colleen Hawkins released a statement saying, “When District staff was alerted to the situation, an investigation into the incident was immediately conducted after confirming that the child was safe and with their family.” Hawkins continued:

“Based on what we learned from this incident, appropriate corrective action has been taken, including but not limited to improvements in student supervision protocols and in securing facilities. We are thankful that the student was safely found as we understand the seriousness of the situation.”

Brett already said it, but the pain of losing a child is something most people never get over. An Australian mom also went through the same thing, but in her situation, her child was autistic, so she was even more scared that her son’s nonverbal condition would make it impossible for them to find him. Luckily, they were able to find him, but it’s an event she carries to this day.

Oliver has since been transferred away from North Park Elementary School. The parents are, however, working to ensure that the institution faces consequences. Natalie said, “That’s why we’re fighting. Not just for Oliver, but for other parents.”

Members of the staff at the school have still not responded or even explained who was at fault. But it’s prudent that they also do internal reworking of their procedures to ensure this never happens again. No lawsuit, as costly as it may be, could ever be as bad as actual harm befalling a child on their watch.