Baltimore mother suing school district after son went missing: "That is unacceptable"

A Baltimore mother said she is suing Baltimore City Schools after her 6-year-old son was found wandering along Reisterstown Road while under school care.

Nearly a year ago, Belinda Curry thought her child, Liam, was in after-school care at his school, Fallstaff Elementary. She said she got a call from school staff saying they had finally found her son.

"They did not do their due diligence," Curry said. "They didn't. They failed my child."

Child goes missing from after-school care

The vulnerable first-grader was able to exit the building unnoticed by staff during a transition period. 

Liam walked away from the school campus and crossed a busy Reisterstown Road before being spotted at Five Below at Reisterstown Plaza. 

"This ordeal has left me with an unthinkable sink in my heart," Curry said.

"She doesn't know that he is missing until after he's found," Curry's attorney, Thiru Vignarajah, said.  "That is unacceptable."

Vignarajah says notification of Liam leaving school property didn't come to Curry until hours later.

"All that time, Ms. Curry was under the impression that Liam was perfectly under control," Curry said. "That he was doing what he did every day."

No apologies for lost child

Curry said she's placed her child in a different school following the incident. She said she hasn't received an apology from the school to this day.

"It would have been nice to hear that adults are accountable," she said.

Vignarajah said the family is seeking compensatory damages for the emotional distress and the ongoing therapy required for Liam's trauma.

"It is not just about losing Liam, but the City's failure to notify parents until after he was recovered," Vignarajah said. "That is a strategy whose goal is damage control, not protecting the child. When a six-year-old goes missing, every minute counts. The school's first call should have been to the mother, not to a lawyer or a PR person."

CBS News Baltimore reached out to Baltimore City Public Schools for comment.