A 19-month-old boy wandered away from a Clayton County day care and was found walking along a busy highway Tuesday morning by a stranger, according to Channel 2 Action News.
The child’s mother told Channel 2 she wants the day care shut down.
“I’m still upset. I’m so upset. I don’t know what to do,” the mother, who asked to remain anonymous, told the news station. “I just thank God that my baby is OK.”
Pure Loving Learning Center, a day care run out of Christian Outreach Evangelistic Church near Riverdale, was tasked with caring for the child. It’s run by Melanie Rogers, Channel 2 reported.
Credit: WSB-TV
Credit: WSB-TV
The mother told the news station Rogers never called her to tell her a stranger found her child walking along Ga. 85, and she only mentioned it when she picked up her three kids around 5:30 p.m.
“She said my son wandered off from the day care, and a man brought him back,” the mother said. “I don’t understand how this happened. This baby is tiny. How did get outside of those doors?”
The Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning is now investigating the incident because the day care may have violated protocol by not calling police, the mother or state officials to report what happened, Channel 2 reported.
While the department wasn’t able to speak about the open investigation, Channel 2 reported the licensed day care is required to report what happened to the child’s parents and police immediately and to state officials within 24 hours of the incident.
State officials told the news station the day care could face fines or potentially lose its license depending on the outcome of the investigation.
Neither Rogers nor her husband D.L. Rogers, who is the pastor of the church, would talk to Channel 2 about the incident.
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly said the child was found along I-85. It was actually Ga. 85.
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