Mother wants answers after day care mix-up in Port Orange
Imagine showing up to your child's day care center, only to realize your child is gone.
That happened to one Volusia County mother.
The young girl is OK, but now, the pressure is on the day care center to justify the major and dangerous mix-up.
WESH 2's Robert Lowe spoke to the child's mother, who is demanding answers.
"I was seriously wondering if I was ever going to see my child again," parent Holly Smith said.
It's a parent's worst fear -- and Smith said she has been reliving it for the past week.
"Basically, they mistook my kid for another child," Smith said.
Last Friday, Smith went to pick up her two children from Pathways Early Learning Center of Port Orange.
She realized someone had taken her daughter when she arrived at the day care center.
"I'm at Pathways, and somebody has taken my daughter," Smith told a 911 dispatcher.
The school told WESH 2 News another parent arranged for her child to be picked up by a co-worker. When she arrived at the center, she provided proper ID to prove she was the parent's appointee. Apparently, this appointee retrieved the incorrect child.
For two hours, Smith experienced what she calls an utter nightmare.
"It wasn't until after the day care had closed and that other child was there and hadn't been picked up yet that they realized," Smith said. "It was an accident, but my daughter should have never been released to this individual."
In a statement to WESH 2 News, the school said, "The Center is further perfecting its security plan, as well as cooperating with all governmental agencies regarding the matter. The Center is overjoyed that the day ended with all children in their appropriate homes. Pathways Early Learning Center is an excellent child learning facility and an asset to our community."
Smith said her kids no longer attend the day care center.
"So thankful that things turned out the way they did," Smith said.
The Port Orange Police Department will not file any charges over the incident. Pathways Early Learning Center of Port Orange has had no previous violations since opening in June of 2014.