HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) – A mother in Horry County, South Carolina, claims her 4-year-old son was left on a school bus and given to a stranger last week.
Myeisha Marks said the stranger safely brought him back to Aynor Elementary School, where he attends pre-kindergarten. However, she said the incident left her concerned about Horry County Schools' safety protocols.
Marks said she was celebrating her birthday two hours away from home on Dec. 5 when she got a call from son Shamiar Smith Jr.'s aunt, saying he had not gotten off the bus. His aunt told the bus driver his name and that he was wearing a tag with his personal information.
According to Marks, bus drivers are supposed to check tagged students' information, have them sit near the front of the bus and give them to an adult. The bus driver checked the entire bus, but told her Smith wasn't there.
"I was two hours away, and the first thing she said was 'Junior didn't get off the bus,'" Marks said. "I panicked, like, 'Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God.' I just hung up the phone [and] called the school."
Aynor Elementary School staff called the bus driver, who said he found the boy asleep under his coat in the middle of the bus and dropped him off with one of his neighbors. Smith's aunt went to the neighbors, but they said they had not seen him.
Marks said she called Aynor Elementary again and the staff told her that her son was back at school. Smith's aunt went to the school, and the staff explained that the bus driver had let Smith off with a stranger, and the stranger brought him back to school.
"If he would've checked the tag when he got on the bus, he would've known," Marks said. "So that's what I'm thinking, like, he didn't do his job from the beginning. He didn't see him, which, he was visible, and he gave him to a complete stranger. That's like, three or four different things that went wrong."
Marks said she and the stranger spoke the next day and that the woman told her that Smith was scared but she kept him safe. Marks said she's grateful.
A few days later, Marks said she asked Aynor Elementary staff members if she could see the school bus surveillance video from that day. Marks said her son was in the middle of the bus but not covered by his coat.
Marks also said she filed a complaint and will continue to call the school to see whether the bus driver will go through re-training or be suspended pending an investigation.
"I just don't even want to think about if something would've happened," she said. "The first thing I was thinking, like, 'Oh my God. My child got kidnapped. Where is he?' Like, it was horrible. I just feel like they need to do better. They really need to do better with the young kids."
An Horry County Schools spokesperson told Nexstar's WBTW the school and bus office have been in touch with Marks and that she reviewed the bus video. Procedures from the incident are being reviewed, including the "Tagged Child Program."
