Roseville family outraged after two kids, 5, walk a mile from school unnoticed
ROSEVILLE — The Roseville City School District is promising to step up security after two 5-year-olds walked a mile away from Blue Oaks Elementary, in the middle of the school day, without anyone noticing.
The incident happened on August 21, and the family of one of the kindergarten students says they have not been able to get specific details into how this happened and how long the boys were missing. The child's great-uncle, Kevin Russell, says more than an hour went by before the mother was notified that the child had left campus unattended.
"Lunch starts at 11:03 a.m. and the mother got a call at 12:40 p.m., and staff stated, 'This is not urgent and please give me a call back,' " Russell said. "They are two 5-year-olds that walked a mile from the school, crossed a busy road. What if it was your kid? How would you react? Would you be nonchalant about it?"
The family also wants to know what security measures will be implemented to prevent another child from unknowingly walking away from school in the future.
"This would have been a totally different outcome if they had been kidnapped, hit by a car, you know what I'm saying? It's transparency," Russell said. "Take these cases more serious, be transparent with details."
We reached out to Roseville City School District and received the following statement:
Roseville City School District and its schools take safety and security seriously. On August 21st, an incident occurred where two elementary students were able to leave a campus unattended during the school day. Site and district staff immediately connected with the families involved and have had multiple conversations with the families over the last week to examine the situation and refine protocols. The site and district are also exploring additional safety alarm measures for exterior gates. We are committed to ensuring the safety and security of each and every student at each of our campuses.
The child's grandmother speaking to CBS13, hoping to raise awareness and protect other kids from being in a similar situation. She said she was horrified to see the route they walked and knows this could have had a very different ending.
"It's not fair for parents to send their kids to school and worry about them leaving, especially two 5-year-olds, they've been in school seven days at that point," Russell said. "His grandmother has put an air tag in his shoe to keep track of him, and dressed him in neon clothes, and they check on him at school. That's not OK."
The mother is scheduled to meet with the principal of Blue Oaks Elementary School on Wednesday to talk about safety measures and determine why she was not immediately contacted when the children were reported missing.
A spokesperson for the district insists they have been in constant communication with the families and said it was an isolated incident.
