KATY (Covering Katy) – Texas Child Protective Services is investigating a local school for special needs children after a 3-year-old boy walked away from the facility Thursday, March 31, 2016. The child was found playing in a ditch on Sandi Lane near Westheimer Parkway, a short distance from Rylander Elementary School.
“I’m just glad that the little boy did not go out and get hit by a car,” said Leslie Jerez, who told Covering Katy that she discovered the boy while going to Rylander Elementary to pick up her son.
Jerez says she discovered the 3-year-old at about 3:30 p.m., and it wasn’t until 4 p.m. before she and another concerned resident figured out that the boy came from the Katy Learning Center on Westheimer Parkway, which is next to the very popular Bahama Mama’s shave ice stand.
The Katy Learning Center is not affiliated with another preschool that has a similar name and operates in Cinco Ranch.
Jerez and a neighbor began knocking on doors, attempting to find the parents of the boy.
With no luck they went back to her house, cleaned the dirt off the boy’s face and gave him water.
“The young boy had dirt caked on his face, red cheeks and was sweaty,” she said. “He wasn’t verbal, and couldn’t tell us his age, so we started to think that he had a learning disability. That’s when we thought he may have come from the Katy Learning Center,” Jerez said.
When they initially checked with the Katy Learning Center, Jerez said they were told that all of the children were accounted for, but a representative of the school came to see the boy. That is when the woman said, “Oh yeah, he is one of ours,” Jerez told Covering Katy.
The Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office responded and confirmed the boy’s age, and interviewed the administrator and other staff members.
The deputy said he was told that the children were outside during recess and the little boy wandered away during an employee shift change.
“The director thinks the child was able to squeeze through the fence when the staff wasn’t looking. They have contacted the parents and are working to resolve the issue. The child was safe and in good health,” the deputy said.
The sheriff’s office has turned the case over to Texas Child Protective Services for further investigation.
“I want to apologize to the parents and the child for this unfortunate incident,” wrote Laura Gore, president of the Katy Learning Center. “We take our responsibilities towards the children entrusted to us very seriously. We are continuing our investigation of the matter and will take whatever steps necessary to make sure an unfortunate incident such as this does not happen again,” Gore said in a statement sent to Covering Katy.