Child found on busy road after wandering from after school program

file photo

By Joe Johnson

A 9-year-old boy this week was found walking along a busy Athens roadway after he wandered off from an after school program.

On Wednesday afternoon the child’s mother called 911 to report that her son was missing from the program at Whitehead Elementary School on Quailwood Drive.

As a search effort was being organized, a second 911 caller reported seeing a child walking on Tallassee Road near Vaughn Drive.

A police supervisor located the boy and reunited him with his father.

Police said they reviewed security footage that showed the child exiting the school through a door that automatically locked and prevented him from getting back inside the building.

“Both parents expressed concern that (their child) was able to exit the school and that the staff was unaware that he was missing,” according to the police report.

Police provided them with a case card and advised them to contact the school district.