BRADENTON, Fla. — A Bradenton mom is looking for answers after she says her 7-year-old son, Fredy Nava, went missing for nearly an hour last Monday following dismissal at Daughtrey Elementary School.
- Parent has since pulled child from school
- School district confirmed there was confusion at dismissal that day
- More Manatee County stories
The boy’s mother, Maria Fuentes, explained that when her nanny went to get the second grader from school, he wasn’t there.
"His nanny who picks him up from school called and asked me, 'did you pick up Fredy?'” she explained. “She said he's not here. They can't find him.”
For nearly an hour, Fuentes and her family were panicked. They, with the help of school officials, started searching the area for the young boy.
“I didn't know who to call, what to do, where to go,” she said. “I was shaking. I was crying."
Roughly fifty minutes later, she received a call that he was found safe at Café Havana restaurant, where his grandmother works. He was spotted on surveillance video crying while speaking with the clerk.
Fuentes later learned that Fredy Nava told his teacher that afternoon that he was walking home from school that day. Instead of calling to verify if it was OK, she says the teacher allowed him to leave unaccompanied.
That’s when the boy turned the wrong way and got lost.
Fuentes has since pulled her son from Daughtrey Elementary School. While she says she doesn’t want the teacher fired, she does want to be sure that this never happens again to another student.
"At least she could have come down and talked to me, apologized, told me why she did it! This is my son. I'm the only one he has,” she said.
A spokesperson for the school district confirmed there had been confusion during dismissal that day, but school leaders are aware of the situation and making sure that protocols will be better followed.