Mom says son wandered from school grounds unnoticed
LEESBURG, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - Marjorie Smith is still fuming over what happened to her little boy on Thursday.
"I got a call from some random strange lady; I still don't know who she is. She said my 7-year-old son was wandering the streets of Lessburg and that some people were trying to pick him," said Smith.
That was at 3:40 in the afternoon. Her son should have been on the school bus riding home from Beverly Shores Elementary School. Instead, Leesburg police say a stranger found Jomar wandering along 441, a busy four lane road alone.
The woman who found Jomar tells FOX 35 she noticed the child as she was walking out of her bank She saw a car pull up next to him, telling him to get in the car, but the child seemed uncomfortable. So, she got a ahead of the little boy and stopped him in his tracks and asked if he was lost. She found Smith's contact information in Jomar's backpack and called he immediately while another woman was on the phone with police. Leesburg Police say the responding officer drover Jomar home.
The big question that still remains, how did the school not notice Jomar just walking off campus by himself. A spokesperson for Lake County Schools tells FOX 35 that the School's principal is reviewing surveillance video from Thursday afternoon to see exactly what happened and if they need to improve their afternoon dismissal process. Jomar explained what happened.
"I just got in line with the walkers," Jomar said. "Did anybody say you don't walk home from school, you take the bus?" asked FOX 35. "No, they just let me be," said Jomar. When asked why he decided to walk home Jomar said, "Kids were bullying me at school." When asked if he knew where he was walking or how to get home Jomar said, "No, I just kept going forward." The seven year old said he knew he'd find his way home eventually.
FOX 35 clocked it -- Jomar walked at least 1.4 miles from the school all by himself in the wrong direction from home before that stranger stopped him.