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"It could have been avoided the whole time. He has been a car rider for two years," Jasmine Ambriz explained.
Ambriz is frustrated and confused about what she says happened Thursday after school. Her son, Emmanuel, was supposed to be picked up through the car rider line by his uncle at Shadydale Elementary School in northeast Houston.
She says school staff told him her son was staying after for tutorials. She knew that wasn't supposed to be the case, but when she called the school, she says no one could tell her where Emmanuel was.
"By the time they answered, they were looking for him. They barely started realizing he was missing," Ambriz said.
She adds that when she got to the school, staff was looking through security video, trying to figure out what happened.
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"First, they told me he walked off campus and that he walked towards the apartment complex. And when the lady came, they were like, 'Oh, he got on a bus,' but they didn't even know themselves. They were just figuring it out just like I was in the same moment," she said.
By about 4:30 p.m., which was about an hour and a half after he was dismissed, she says a woman showed up to the school with Emmanuel safe and sound.
The woman told her she saw him alone and crying after getting off the school bus at her apartment complex and brought him back to the school, which is about a mile away.
"She is an angel, and I am always going to be grateful to her for finding him and doing that for me," Ambriz said.
She is so thankful her son is OK but is also upset this happened in the first place.
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"I know it's a bunch of kids and accidents happen, but something worse could have happened to him. He could have ended up with someone else with wrong intentions," Ambriz said.
Eyewitness News reached out to HISD about the situation, and they responded with the following statement:
"The safety of our students and staff is our top priority.
We are aware of a transportation issue and are reviewing procedures to ensure a safe dismissal process for all students at Shadydale Elementary School.
Due to students' privacy rights, we are unable to provide additional information."
For more news updates, follow Courtney Carpenter on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
ABC13's previous reports on similar school errors:
7-year-old student wanders off Fort Bend ISD school campus after a front office name mix-up
7-year-old student wanders off Fort Bend ISD school campus after a front office name mix-up
4-year-old Fort Bend ISD student wanders off campus and to neighbor's home: 'Absolutely outraged'
4-year-old pre-K student wanders off campus and to strangers doorstep
Alvin ISD pre-K student walks nearly 1 mile away from campus, lost for more than 30 minutes near 288
Alvin ISD loses 4-year-old who walked nearly 1 mile away from campus
Pre-kindergartner dropped off and left alone at Aldine ISD school 13 minutes before opening
4-year-old pre-K student left alone by day care at Aldine ISD school