'I was shaking': OKC mother says school lost her child
An Oklahoma City mother is criticizing her child's school for losing track of her and another student while they were in the school's care.
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — An Oklahoma City mother is criticizing her child's school for losing track of her and another student while they were in the school's care.
Kily Keeling said she dropped off her eight-year-old daughter at John Glenn Elementary Tuesday morning, not expecting anything out of the ordinary.
She said that expectation was not met when she got a call from her daughter's school telling her she had been picked up by police and that Keeling needed to get to the school.
"I got there, my child was in the conference room," said Keeling. "I was told that my child left at 12:40 because they saw it on the cameras...I was shaking, I'm still shaking."
Keeling said that was around the same time as her daughter's recess and that she was told she had left with another student during that time.
News 4 employees visited the school site Wednesday and observed that two gates entering and exiting the school were open, making it easy for anyone to come and go.
"My child and the other child were found on [Southwest] 59th and May," said Keeling. "That's something I drive all the time to take them to school. She was found approximately a mile away from the school. She was gone for an hour and 35 minutes. That was a 19 minute walk."
Keeling said after talking with her daughter she was told the little girl ran away to spend time with her friend.
Despite the circumstances, Keeling also said she takes accountability for her part in the incident.
"I do take accountability for my child walking off campus, but the school needs to take accountability for the fact that no one was watching them when they left and the gates are wide open," said Keeling.
Keeling also addressed the dread she felt when considering how differently things could have ended.
"They're very beautiful young ladies," said Keeling. "Anyone could have picked them up. When I asked [my daughter], she said that several people had stopped and asked if they were OK. I asked her if she was scared and she said at that point, yes, she was."
News 4 reached out to the Western Heights Public School District for comment.
A spokesperson shared the following statement:
News 4 let Keeling review the statement before the publication of this report, and asked her how she felt about it.
"I'm not really sure what they're going to do moving forward," said Keeling. "I hope that something is done. That's why I decided to do this interview, because other children, this needs to not happen to any more children."
Keeling said she enrolled her daughter in a different school Wednesday morning, and doesn't plan on going back.