Child found wandering along road after being dropped off at North Carolina summer camp

HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. (WBTV/Gray News) – A young boy was found walking outside, unattended, after being dropped off at a summer camp in North Carolina.

His mom, Stephany Steen, told WBTV she felt something wasn’t right when she dropped off her son Monday morning.

Steen said she felt there wasn’t enough staff for Superhero Camp at Discovery Place Kids – Huntersville and worried they wouldn’t be able to identify her son.

She left but quickly returned to ensure her son was OK and told the staff to contact her of any problems. Less than an hour passed before her son was wandering by the road.

“It was my worse fear as a mother, my worst nightmare,” Steen said.

Steen explained she had run some errands and then saw a police officer pull into the Discovery Place when she returned.

“I saw my child being held by a firefighter,” Steen said.

Steen’s motherly intuition kicked in and she was shocked by what she saw. She said a good Samaritan saw her child walking along the road, took him to the fire station and called 911.

First responders realized the young boy somehow walked out of the building from camp.

“I just want it to be known that this isn’t to be a witch hunt or anything against Discovery Place,” Steen said. “This is just to get the message out to parents to let them know that this was supposed to be a fun day for my son, and that this incident did happen where he was able to escape a building without adult supervision.”

She said she just wants to bring awareness to parents about safety measures at camps.

“Check the protocols and procedures for when you’re dropping your kids off at these camps to make sure that it is secure for the kids,” Steen said.

The mother said Discovery Place has reached out to Steen to apologize about the incident and released the following statement:

“Discovery Place takes the safety and care of children in our summer camp program extremely seriously. On June 20, a child attending summer camp at Discovery Place Kids – Huntersville was able to leave the building unattended. Our management team is conducting a full investigation to determine the details of what occurred. We do not have any additional details to share at this time.”

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