Owings Mills kindergarten parent says daughter was dropped off at wrong bus stop prompting frantic search
BALTIMORE - Baltimore County Police investigated a report of a missing child after a 5-year-old Baltimore County Public Schools kindergartener wound up on the wrong school bus during dismissal.
On Sept. 1, the student's mother, Ashley Wantz, said she made a call to Owings Mills Elementary School on Reisterstown Rd. after her daughter was not dropped off at their designated school bus stop by 4:15 p.m.
TONIGHT ON WJZ AT 11: A Baltimore County kindergarten student ended up on the wrong bus and was dropped off at the wrong location, prompting a missing person search.@CrisMendezTV speaks with the student's mother and has the school's response. pic.twitter.com/vXCNtVY2fO
— WJZ | CBS Baltimore (@wjz) September 9, 2023
Police said officers responded to the 10000 block of Reisterstown Rd. around 4:45 p.m. to investigate a report of a missing child.
The kindergartner was found at a park in the Watermill Apartments complex with other students, according to Wantz, which is located across the street from the elementary school.
Officers cleared the call for service at approximately 5:55 p.m., a spokesperson stated.
Despite being found safe, Wantz said her daughter broke down later that evening about the incident.
"She started crying and said 'mommy, I was so scared. I never want to be on the bus again," said Wantz.
In response to the incident, the school district wrote:
"BCPS takes seriously its responsibility to ensure that students get to and from school safely and without incident. In rare instances, especially in the first few days of a new school year, a child may accidentally board a different bus or debark at a different stop. In those cases, BCPS schools immediately respond with a variety of resources, including law enforcement partners, to quickly locate students and ensure that they get to or from home or school safely. That process was used in the Sept. 1 instance at Owings Mills Elementary School, and the school's principal has since investigated the incident and reviewed transportation procedures with her staff. It is important to note that the student was with a group of students the entire time and was never left alone."
Wantz said her daughter did not feel comfortable going to school for several days but returned to class this Friday.
"She made a friend, so she was happy when she came out," described Wantz.
However, the family said it was decided that the kindergartener would be dropped off and be picked up from school by relatives for the time being.
"We're not doing the bus anymore. [I'm] hoping they fix this situation and acknowledge what they did," said Wantz.