CRCSD parent says child ran away from school

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – A parent in the Cedar Rapids Community School District told school officials Monday that his five-year-old daughter left Pierce Elementary School and was found by a stranger.

“What happened to my family today is an atrocity that should never happen to anyone in the school district,” John Thompson told the board during Monday night's meeting.

Thompson, who is running for a seat in the Iowa House of Representatives, said his daughter disappeared from Pierce around 10:45 a.m. Monday, about an hour before the CRCSD dismissed elementary school students early from school Monday due to extreme heat.

Thompson says his daughter thought a teacher was yelling at her for her bad behavior. He says she went to the 2nd grade area to look for her brother and when she couldn't find him, she thought he had been picked up without her, so she left school.

Thompson said his daughter made it to 42nd Street NE, where she was found by a woman and taken to the Thompsons' home.

Thompson says his family didn't receive a call until 10 minutes after they dropped his daughter off at home.

“No parent should have to worry about the school not knowing where our child is,” Thompson said. “That's their job.”

Thompson says the school's principal later came by to talk to his family, but when he asked what could be done to prevent it from happening again, he received only a partial apology.

“Children should not be able to leave school unsupervised,” Thompson said.

KCRG-TV9 reached out to a CRCSD spokesperson for comment Tuesday morning.

All rights reserved.