Fairfield mom says preschool program "lost" her 2-year-old for unknown amount of time, files police report
"That's a mother's worst fear, not knowing where your kid is," said Kelsey Craig, the child's mother.
It happened at the Fairfield Community Center on Tuesday morning. Craig's 2-year-old daughter, Scarlett, was enrolled in the "Terrific Tots" day program when she allegedly slipped out of sight.
The Fairfield Police Department confirmed to CBS13 that it is investigating to see if a crime occurred.
"Whether this is negligence or child endangerment, an oversight just doesn't do it. There has to be some type of actionable change going forward to ensure this doesn't happen to anyone else's baby," Craig said.
Craig said that this happened on her daughter's first day at the program and she will not be returning.
At pick up on Tuesday, Craig said a teacher pulled her aside and explained that an incident had occurred.
"She told me that my child got out. My immediate follow-up was, did you realize she was missing or did someone return her? And it was the latter," Craig said.
Craig said that the teacher admitted they were short-staffed that day, and a program director told her a substitute had been called in to help staff the classroom of toddlers.
The mother does not know how her daughter got out of the locked classroom. She said her 2-year-old was found down the hallway and in the community center lobby.
"I trust you with the care of my child. For her to be unsupervised, unattended, unaccounted for, I can't accept that," Craig said.
It is not known how long Scarlett was roaming. For a mother, the mind jumps to the unthinkable.
"If she would have been snatched? If she would have traveled outside?" Craig said. "It could have been a lot worse."
Scarlett was just steps from the automatic front door, leading to the parking lot. At that time, Craig said, a front desk worker at the community center stepped in.
"She told me she was out of eyesight, but within earshot, she heard a man questioning my daughter, 'Where's your mommy, where's your mommy?' I just am very thankful that she was in the right place at the right time," Craig said of the worker who helped return her child to the classroom.
She is demanding accountability from the City of Fairfield. A spokesperson provided this statement in response to CBS13:
"The safety of our early childhood program participants is of the highest importance to the City of Fairfield. We are investigating this matter and have no further comment at this time."
Craig hopes to hear from the city soon, wanting an update on what has changed.
"I researched a lot of programs and felt this one was right. My trust is irretrievably broken," Craig said.
Craig also says she tried to obtain video surveillance from the lobby to see how long her 2-year-old child was unaccounted for but was told it is part of the investigation and could not be released.
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