Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
VIGO COUNTY SCHOOL CORPORATION
LOST HER
AUTISTIC CHILD.
NEWS 10'S BRITTANY EARL EXPLAINS
THE CHAIN OF EVENTS
AND HOW A MIX-UP COULD HAVE
HAPPENED.
KIRA RAY PICKS UP HER 6-YEAR-
OLD-SON ETHAN FROM THE BUS-
STOP AROUND 2:50 EVERY
AFTERNOON.
BUT ON MONDAY, ETHAN NEVER
SHOWED.
MRS. RAY DROVE DOWN TO THE
PRINCIPAL'S OFFICE AT
WABASH ELEMENTARY SEARCHING FOR
ANSWERS. "SHE'S
LIKE NO HE'S NOT HERE AND SHE
CALLS THE TRANSPORTATION
DEPARTMENT AND AT THIS POINT
IT'S 3:15 THAT SHE'S CALLING THE
TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT WELL
THERE IS A SUB ON THE BUS
AND HE'S RUNNING 15 MINUTES
LATE."
AT THIS POINT IT'S 45 MINUTES
PAST ETHANS DROP OFF
TIMEAND STILL NO SIGN OF ETHAN.
"IF THIS WAS MY 12 YEAR OLD..IT
WOULDN'T BE AS BIG OF AN ISSUE
..HE COULD OF WALKED HOME. ITS
TWO THREE BLOCKS FROM GARFIELD
TO HOME. HE COULD
TELL YA THIS ISN'T THE PLACE IM
SUPPOSE TO BE. ETHAN
DOESN'T HAVE THAT LUXURY." IT'S
HARD FOR ETHAN TO COMMUNICATE
BECAUSE HE'S AUTISTICHE HAS A
SPEECH AND
LANGUAGE IMPAIRMENTMAKI NG IT
HARD FOR HIM TO SAY HE'S
LOST. MRS. RAY SAYS AT THIS
POINT
SHE'S FREAKING OUT THEN.. HER
PHONE RANG.
"THE DAYCARE CALLED ME AND SAYS
KIRA THEY DROPPED ETHAN
OFF HERE ...ITS 3:40 EXACTLY
3:40 ITS BEEN 55 MINS THAT HE
SHOULD
HAVE BEEN HOME. "AND YOU JUST
GETTING A CALL NOW FROM THE
DAYCARE" ....FROM THE DAYCARE I
FOUND OUT WHERE MY
KID WAS FROM THE DAYCARE." THE
BUS DROPPED OFF
ETHAN AT JACK IN THE BOX
DAYCARE.
ALTHOUGH ETHAN ATTENDED THAT
DAYCARE IN SEPTEMBER, HE
HADN'T BEEN THERE IN OVER TWO
MONTHS.
THE DAYCARE WORKER EVEN TOLD THE
BUS DRIVER SHE
DIDN'T RECOGNIZE HIM. "THIS ONE
WAS JUST SHOWING ME THE
PAPER AND I'M LIKE I DON'T KNOW
THIS KID AND I DON'T KNOW
HE'S SUPPOSE TO BE HERE. AND
JUST KEPT SHOWING ME THE
PAPER. THE SUBSTITUTE DRIVER
TOLD THE
DAYCARE ETHAN'S PAPERWORK STATED
JACK IN THE BOX AS HIS
DROP-OFF LOCATION. MRS. RAY
SAYS THE CONFUSION
COULD HAVE STARTED WITH
PAPERWORK NOT BEING UPDATED.
BUT..SHE WONDERS WHY PEOPLE
DIDN'T ASK QUESTIONS
OR MAKE MORE PHONE CALLS.
"SOMEONE SHOULD HAVE
BEEN NOTIFIED RIGHT THEN AND
THERE AND SAID HEY THIS PERSON
DOES NOT KNOW THIS KID." MRS.
RAY SAYS THE WHOLE EVENT
SCARED ETHAN. SINCE THE
INCIDENT,
ETHAN'S MOM DECIDED FROM NOW ON
SHE'LL PICK HIM UP,
AVOIDING FUTURE CATASTROPHES. IN
TERRE HAUTE WITH
PHOTOJOURNALIST TONY K. BRITTANY
EARL NEWS 10."
MRS. RAY TOLD NEWS 10 SHE'S
THANKFUL THAT THE DAYCARE
TOOK IN HER SON AND CALLED HER.
THE SCHOOL HAS SINCE APOLOGIZED
TO MRS. RAY. SUPERINTENDANT
DANNY TANOOS
TOLD NEWS 10 THE DRIVER FOLLOWED
HIS INSTRUCTIONS
BUT SHOULD HAVE MADE MORE CALLS
AND HAS SINCE BEEN
NOTIFIED. [515]WX TEASE-TWCAM