SPOKANE Wash – When Caitlin Lake saw her son and his first-grade classmate walking down Grand Blvd. on Wednesday, she said her heart stopped because they were supposed to be in class at Roosevelt Elementary School. “Suddenly, I see two kids on the sidewalk. And I’m like, why are there? Oh my god, that’s my kid,” Lake said. Lake’s son and his classmate walked approximately a mile from their elementary school. Lake said her son and the other first grader stopped at a convenience store along the way and may have taken other streets, making the journey longer. With all this taken into account, the children could have been missing, she said, for close to 40 minutes. Lake noted that during this time, the school never contacted her. “If it doesn’t happen within the first 30 minutes of a child being unaccounted for, when does it happen?” Lake told NonStop Local she picked the boys up and took both children back to school, where the principal’s assistant met with her. “I just told them this is completely unacceptable. I do not know how to proceed from here as a parent. There is so much the school needs to explain and even more that the district will need to explain,” Lake said. We reached out to a spokesperson for the district, who told NonStop Local the district was aware. “Central administration has been made aware of this situation and is actively working with school staff and the family to determine what occurred and ensure it is appropriately addressed. A key focus is supporting the family and providing necessary resources,” the district said. We also contacted the other child’s mother, who asked to stay anonymous. She said she is beyond grateful to Lake but very disappointed in Roosevelt Elementary. “Angry is an understatement of how I’m feeling about the whole situation. The fact that they walked out the front door, the fact that nobody was called or alerted. Nothing was done,” she said. Lake said the district asked to meet with her about how her son could be better supported and be brought back to the school, but she says she’s not ready to meet with them. “If anyone at the district can tell me that they would send their kid back to school, I would call them a liar to their face because you cannot say that to me honestly. Like no one would send their child back.” Lake said she is just grateful it didn’t end differently, “to have him home with me, it’s like I just can’t think too hard. about it. You know, the alternatives are too chilling.”
