School sends wrong child to daycare in Clinton

CLINTON, Mass. -- There was a troubling mix up involving a 4-year-old boy when teachers put the wrong child on a bus in Clinton on Tuesday.

It was the first day of school for pre-K and Kindergarten students at Clinton Elementary.

When it was time to arrive home, one four-year-old’s parents waited at their child’s bus stop. After some time passed, the couple called the school and police wondering where their son was. School administrators didn’t know, so police started searching all over Clinton for the missing 4-year-old.

Just as police began searching the neighborhoods, representatives from the school went to the main strip in Clinton to speak with workers in local stores and let them know there was a missing boy. They even provided a picture to see if anyone had seen him.

People were texting the photo to friends, and everyone was frantically looking for the boy, not realizing that he was safe and sound.

“It broke my heart, I’m like, 'I hope they find him,'” said Gail Marrama. 

It turned out that a boy with the same name was supposed to be taken to Saint Mary’s Day Care after school, and teachers sent another child.

When the day care workers realized the mix up, the boy was returned to his parents.

Other parents couldn’t imagine what those long three hours felt like when their child was missing.

“I would be crazy,” said one woman.

“This is terrible,” said another.

The father of the young boy is still a little shaken up by the ordeal but is happy his son is home. He doesn’t necessarily blame the school for the mix up; he understood that it was the first day of classes.

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