One kindergartener gave the whole school a scare on his first day of school.
He went to breakfast with other students, but didn't show up to his classroom.
School officials, Crawford County police, Van Buren police, and Alma police all began the search.
He was discovered by school resource officers less than an hour later- in the wrong classroom.
Nobody is quite sure why the child wandered off and responded to a different name, but school officials seem to think it was just first day nerves.
"It's all about that first time. The first day of kindergarten, the first day of school for a new student in a new school. Usually routines get worked out in two or three days, sometimes shorter," said Lonnie Myers, the Van Buren Assistant Superintendent.
And while there are always a few mishaps at the beginning of the school year, Lieutenant Stephen Staggs with the Van Buren police says he can't remember anything like this happening before. "We have missing, let's say misplaced, children who get on a wrong bus or didn't get off the bus at the right house, this type of thing. We have a lot of that at the beginning of the school year. But really specific, missing, can't find this child anywhere, situations like this, no," said Lt. Staggs.
And while this story does have a happy ending, it did cause a very tense hour in Van Buren. "When it's the safety of the child, that puts you on the highest alert. And fortunately for us, he was there, our building safe the whole time. So that's about the best it could be, really," said Myers.
He went to breakfast with other students, but didn't show up to his classroom.
School officials, Crawford County police, Van Buren police, and Alma police all began the search.
He was discovered by school resource officers less than an hour later- in the wrong classroom.
Nobody is quite sure why the child wandered off and responded to a different name, but school officials seem to think it was just first day nerves.
"It's all about that first time. The first day of kindergarten, the first day of school for a new student in a new school. Usually routines get worked out in two or three days, sometimes shorter," said Lonnie Myers, the Van Buren Assistant Superintendent.
And while there are always a few mishaps at the beginning of the school year, Lieutenant Stephen Staggs with the Van Buren police says he can't remember anything like this happening before. "We have missing, let's say misplaced, children who get on a wrong bus or didn't get off the bus at the right house, this type of thing. We have a lot of that at the beginning of the school year. But really specific, missing, can't find this child anywhere, situations like this, no," said Lt. Staggs.
And while this story does have a happy ending, it did cause a very tense hour in Van Buren. "When it's the safety of the child, that puts you on the highest alert. And fortunately for us, he was there, our building safe the whole time. So that's about the best it could be, really," said Myers.
