AURORA, Ill. (CBS) — A western suburban couple found themselves panicking this week as they desperately searched for their 7-year-old daughter, who was stuffed into a stranger’s car after school.
Plus, this wasn’t the little girl’s first safety hazard.
Jerry Davidson and Amiah Oliver hopped in the car on Tuesday, Oct. 29, to pick up their daughter Ly’leah during an after-school program at Steck Elementary in Aurora — on time, like any other day. Oliver said someone at school told her that Ly’leah was with her father, which was clearly not the case, as Ly’leah’s mother and father were there together to pick up their daughter.
“And she just froze on the phone,” Oliver said of the school representative. “She just froze, so that’s when we knew the worst had happened.”
It turned out that Ly’leah had been wrongly told to get into a stranger’s car, without any idea where it was going.
“It was very concerning and worrisome,” Davidson said, “just standing around waiting for answers that were never going to come.”
Davidson tracked a GPS tracker in his daughter’s backpack, which first led him to this locked greenhouse, before pinging down the street where he found her in the back of a car.
“My daughter was crying. I was crying. Her mother was crying,” Davidson said.
Family photo
Aurora police said the car was an Uber called by a school employee, but the details are difficult to follow in the redacted report.
Indian Prairie School District 204 explained that it does not run the after-school program that Ly’leah was participating in before she ended up in the wrong car.
“Right at School leases space in Indian Prairie School District 204 buildings to provide before- and after-school care to the community,” the district said in a statement. “Right at School is an independent provider and not a school district-sponsored program.
Evanston-based Right at School promotes programs at dozens of Chicago schools. The organization said in a statement that the employee involved in overseeing student pick-ups on that day is no longer with the organization, adding that previous training has now been reinforced.
Uber’s policies should have prevented the incident. Uber says account holders must be 18 and older — special teen accounts are available for people ages 13 to 17 — meaning a 7-year-old shouldn’t be in an Uber alone. Uber added that it is asking drivers to report situations involving underage passengers.
“It’s a very traumatic experience,” Oliver said. “I can’t even believe this happened a second time, let alone the first time.”
Ly’leah’s parents said they gave her a GPS tracker because of a previous scare at the school that also left her missing.
Davidson and Oliver said their daughter went missing last year after her first day of kindergarten. She was allowed to get off the school bus several blocks before her correct stop.
Indian Prairie School District 204 said on that occasion that Ly’leah was found playing safely at a neighbor’s home.
“After this incident, we implemented additional supports, including having a staff member accompany the student on the bus to ensure she was comfortable identifying the correct stop,” the school district said.
Meanwhile, Ly’leah’s parents hang a photo of her on the dashboard of their car.
“That’s my first love,” Davidson said. “That’s my baby.”
Davidson and Oliver hope their daughter’s story will increase safety measures for all children at her school.
Ly’leah’s parents say they have petitioned the school district to transfer to another school, and they also want to attend private schools.
