SAN ANTONIO — Gloria Reyna was waiting for her 6-year-old daughter, Sophie, Tuesday at her bus stop—a daily routine. But she said Sophie was nowhere to be found.
So, she called Mead Elementary School, and then 911 when faculty at the school said they didn't know her child's whereabouts.
At the same time, two strangers also called police, after having found Sophie at Denman Estate Park. She was dropped off near there and ended up on the other side of the park, having walked by herself for an hour.
The strangers waited with Sophie until Reyna could come collect her, and bought her some Chik-fil-A while waiting. Reyna said it's a situation that never should have happened.
“All I wanted to do was get her home and make sure she was okay,” Reyna said. “I’m very blessed with the ladies who went in and helped her.”
She said her daughter didn’t know the name of their apartments or the address. Now, she said she hopes her experience serves as a warning to other parents.
“To warn parents to try and teach them a little bit more. I’m going to work with her on that,” Reyna said.
Northside ISD spokesman Barry Perez said bus footage showed the girl getting off without saying a word to the driver. He said a substitute bus driver was working that day, and when Reyna called the school, staff went out to various bus locations to search for the girl.
Perez added that drivers help students learn their stops, but rely on them to know their drop-off location.
Reyna said Sophie’s friend, who usually rides with her child, was not on the bus that day, adding Sophie is new to riding the buses. Her suggestion to the district: implementing a system to ensure children get dropped off at the right locations.
“We're trusting them as parents that, you know, we drop them off at a certain area or pick them up in a certain area—that's where they should be,” Reyna said. “How come most of the elementary (schools) don't have bus assistance? They have a checklist of when they go, but they don't have a checklist on where they're going.”
In a statement, Perez said "campus and district staff are working with the parent to address the incident. And, we are committed to taking necessary steps to prevent this from happening again. The safety of students is our priority."
He said the district has addressed the situation with the substitute bus driver, who is still employed with Northside ISD.