Toddler slips out of Dothan daycare, goes shopping at Walmart

DOTHAN, Ala. (WTVY) – A three-year-old wandered unsupervised from a Dothan daycare this week, then walked to a nearby store where someone noticed him about 25 minutes later.

“He had asked to potty, and (daycare workers) told him to go by himself,” the boy’s mother, Jasmine Najee, said on Thursday, two days after the incident happened at Kiddie Care Learning Center.

She told News4 that her son, Sir Paxton, walked across a road to Walmart Neighborhood Market. About 20 minutes later, an employee who is also a family friend spotted the boy heading to the checkout with Hot Wheels and snacks.

“(Surveillance) cameras showed he left the daycare at 4:07,” Najee said, while police confirmed they received a call about the matter at 4:30.

What perturbs Najee most, she claimed, is nobody notified her until the daycare called about 5 o’clock.

Despite her frustration, Najee is thankful that her son was not injured crossing Buckingham Drive.

“We could be grieving his death,” she told News4.

“I am deeply sorry, to the child in our care, the parents, and those affected by this situation,” daycare owner Kishia Saffold said in a statement. “As the director and owner, I take full responsibility for our failure to ensure the safety of those in our care – a duty I’ve always held as my highest priority.”

Saffold said security measures will be updated.

Here is her full statement:

Our updated statement to the parents: I am deeply sorry, to the child in our care, the parents, and those affected by this situation.

As the director and owner, I take full responsibility for our failure to ensure the safety of those in our care – a duty I’ve always held as my highest priority.

The unthinkable, happened and without going into all the details, this is what I’ll tell you. Nobody wants or thinks that they’ll be in a situation where a mistake happens that could compromise a child’s safety. And when a mistake is made, we want to say and do the right thing. I’ve concluded that no matter what I say, someone will be there to point the finger and find fault with our actions that day and what we said in response. Hindsight is 20/20. I regret this happened. This mama put her trust in us to care for her child and we failed her. I promise you I am taking the steps to make sure that nothing like this happens again.

To the family and our community: I hear your frustrations, your anger, and your concerns. New security measures are being put in place as we speak. We are fully cooperating with all agencies involved in the investigation, committed to understanding exactly what went wrong and how we can prevent anything like this from ever happening again.

I pledge to you that we will learn from this and work tirelessly to rebuild the trust that has been broken. Your child’s safety is, and always will be, our utmost concern.

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