Newton County 4-year-old found safe after taken to wrong daycare

Child put on wrong daycare bus after school

The child's father said a van was supposed to take Autumn to her regular daycare after school, but instead, she was put on a different daycare van. He said more than three hours passed from the time she went missing to the moment he held her again. The school district said school officials alerted local law enforcement to the issue.

NEWTON COUNTY, Ga. - Newton County Schools said a child was taken to the wrong daycare after school on Tuesday.

Newton County student on wrong bus

What they're saying:

It happened after her second day of pre-K at West Newton Elementary School.

Her father, Marcus Stewart, said the mix-up left him terrified and demanding answers from the school district.

"I got a call around 4:00 p.m. from my child's mother saying that she's missing from West Newton Elementary and that they don't know where she's at," Stewart said.

He said a van was supposed to take Autumn to her regular daycare after school, but instead, she was put on a different daycare van — one that had nothing to do with her.

According to the Newton County School District, an investigation revealed Autumn was mistakenly placed on the wrong van. Stewart said the daycare involved told him the confusion may have stemmed from the fact that they care for another child also named Autumn.

Reunited after missing for hours

What they're saying:

"That's just the scariest part of not knowing and not knowing anything or having any clue. The last line of defense was the people that supposedly got her on the van, and they don't even know anything," Stewart said. "It's scary because you don't know so many kids are getting taken today from the kidnappings."

Stewart said more than three hours passed from the time Autumn went missing to the moment he held her again. He says he doesn’t believe the school handled the situation with the urgency or compassion it required.

"I think they should have more compassion in situations like this, and they should have more urgency for sure, and more understanding, because they imagine it being your child," he said.

Changing schools from West Newton Elementary School

What they're saying:

While Autumn is now safe, Stewart says she won’t be returning to West Newton Elementary. He plans to transfer her to a different school.

""I'm so thankful that she is okay. She's happy to see her siblings, her sisters and her brothers and her grandmother and everything. And her mom. So I'm very thankful. And I thank the Lord, you know, that she was safe," Stewart said. 

District on transportation issue

The other side:

The school district released a statement on Tuesday evening about the incident. It read, "This afternoon we were made aware that a West Newton Elementary School student was transported on the wrong daycare van. Immediately upon learning of this, we notified local law enforcement to assist in an investigation. The child was later located and has been reunited with her family."