DECATUR — After his family went through a harrowing experience on Monday, concerned father Shane Barnes wants to warn other parents to make sure their children know where to get off the bus and what to do if they are left alone.
Shane Barnes’ 3-yearold daughter, a prekindergarten student at Northside Elementary School, got off the school bus at the wrong stop on Monday afternoon and wandered alone for 30 to 40 minutes before a mail carrier rescued her and took her back to the elementary school, he said.
Shane Barnes said he believes his daughter was dropped off somewhere along the east end of Austin Street near Veterans Park, nearly three quarters of a mile from her baby-sitter’s house on Eubanks Street.
Shane Barnes’ wife, Bobbi Barnes, discovered the mistake when the baby-sitter called and told her the girl didn’t get off the bus. Bobbi Barnes thought the girl had probably decided to ride the bus home with her 13-year-old son, so she called the boy on his cell phone and asked where his sister was.
The boy took the phone to the bus driver and told the driver his mom needed to talk to him because his little sister was missing and didn’t get off the bus, but the driver allegedly responded by telling the boy to sit down and be quiet, according to Shane.
Bobbi Barnes met the bus and got on board to talk to the driver and find out what was going on, only to be told she wasn’t allowed on the bus and to take her son and leave.
Meanwhile, the 3-year-old approached a mail carrier, whom she mistook for a policeman according to her father, and the mail carrier returned her safely to the elementary school.
When the girl was found, her face was beet red from the heat and she was crying, Shane Barnes said.
The mail carrier, A.L. Austin, is a big hero to the Barnes family and deserves lots of thanks, according to Shane Barnes. Even so, he can’t help but think that his daughter might have been kidnapped or worse if she had trustingly approached the wrong stranger.
“Thank God it was somebody that had good intentions,” he said.
Shane Barnes said he is very upset that the bus driver didn’t allow his 13-year-old son to sit with his little sister like he instructed. Shane Barnes said he feels that if his son had been allowed to sit with his daughter, the incident would not have happened.
Shane Barnes said he is also upset that his wife was turned away so rudely when she tried to get on the bus to speak to the driver.
“I’m mad — really mad, but I try to put myself in her shoes at that age and it makes me want to cry. She was absolutely helpless. She didn’t know where she was at. She didn’t have any clue of the dangers that were out there,” Shane Barnes said.
He pointed out that a woman was attacked by three dogs in the same neighborhood just a few months ago and that his daughter was found less than a quarter mile from a busy highway. She could have wandered to the nearby wastewater treatment plant, fallen into a swimming pool or even taken the wrong turn and wandered into some nearby woods, he said.
Even though it is was only the third day of school, Shane Barnes said he still feels the bus driver was ultimately responsible to make sure each child got off at the right place.
“Everybody makes mistakes. I make mistakes. But there are just some mistakes you just cannot make in this life,” he said.
Shane Barnes said he wants to make sure other parents know how important it is to teach their children where to get off the bus.
Decatur Schools superintendent Larry Ben said he just learned of the incident Tuesday morning and would be investigating. He wanted to get all the facts before commenting further on the incident but wanted parents to know their children would be safe on Decatur school buses.
"All I know is that the child was let off at the wrong stop and the child is safe," Ben said.