Boy found safe at school after reported missing, family wants answers

DICKINSON, TX (KTRK) -- An 11-year-old Dickinson boy who was missing Monday afternoon was safely located by authorities.

"It was a lot of nervous people," Katie Tarver said.

Tarvar says when her grandson Nathaniel Tarver-Lockett, who also goes by 'Nate', didn't get off the school bus Monday afternoon, the family panicked.

"My heart was in my feet. We were all just a nervous wreck," she said.

The boy's mom called the school, Dunbar Middle, and alerted school leaders, but Nate was nowhere to be found. The frantic search began.

"It was like like 20 people out looking for him around the school and everywhere. We came to the neighborhood, but couldn't find him," Katie Tarver said.

The boy's family searched.

Police searched.

Thereafter, an all call went out as school officials searched.

"They say they search the school and the bus," Tarver added.

Family members tell Eyewitness News that a janitor found Nate three hours later inside a bathroom, asleep.

"I wonder why they didn't search the bathroom to start with when we first call to the school?" Tarver asked.

The Dickinson School District spokeswoman said the principal viewed surveillance video and saw the boy go into a bathroom. The boy's family says the story just isn't adding up and they have a lot of questions.

"They ought to be accountable for these kids," Tarver said.

The good news in all of this is, Nate is now home safe.

"He's doing good. He's just a little nervous but he's doing good. When he came home all we could do was hug him, hug him and cry," she said.

And after lunging into his father's arms, Katie Tarver said her grandson told her he was sorry and cried.