North metro mothers experience frantic few hours after drop-off mix-up

ANOKA, Minn. — It was a frantic few hours for two north metro mothers after a driver mistakenly picked up the wrong child and dropped him off at the wrong home.

On most days, Amanda Mickelson watches and waits for her son, Alex, to arrive home from therapy at Caravel Autism Health. The 3-year-old is non-verbal and unable to communicate. 

Earlier this month, a pick-up mixup led to a frightening call from the clinic in Anoka.

"They had placed my child into the incorrect vehicle, and they weren't sure where he was going, but they were going to try to figure it out and call me back," Mickelson said.

Alex was picked up by a driver for a different transportation company and dropped off at an apartment complex 12 miles away. Luckily, he was greeted by another mom whose son goes to the same clinic.

Cecelia Thompson says she was shocked to see another boy —not her own 3-year-old son, Kentrell —strapped in the car seat.

"The mother who's expecting her child to be dropped off saw that it was my son in the vehicle," Mickelson said. "She immediately told the driver, 'No, this is not my child. You need to bring him back to the clinic.'"

Instead, the driver left Alex with Thompson — a complete stranger —and took off.

"He left him here. It's just a whole scary situation," Thompson said.

When Mickelson heard the driver had left Alex at an unfamiliar location, and left, she was furious.

"Why did this driver drop my child off at the wrong location?" Mickelson said.

Eventually, the clinic ordered the driver to get Alex and bring him back to the clinic.

Across town, Thompson was wondering where her son was and was reluctant to give the driver another chance.

"I kinda didn't want to put the kid back in the van, I'm not gonna lie, because it's like, 'What else could possibly go wrong?'" Thompson said.

Eventually, both boys made it home safely, where their worried moms were waiting, with a little extra love.

"I grabbed him and I hugged him and I said, 'Where did you go, pal? And he's just smiling at me," Mikelson said.

Both parents say they were told a language barrier with the driver contributed to the confusion. Another problem: ride services operate separately from the clinic and can be different drivers for each child.

In a written statement, Caravel Autism Health said, "While it was an isolated incident, we take the safety of our clients incredibly seriously and have improved and expanded the safeguards we have in place as well as worked with the transportation company to help ensure that this does not happen again."