ORLANDO, Fla. — A mother wants answers on how her 5-year-old boy was able to walk away from Rolling Hills Elementary School in Pine Hills for 30 minutes before anyone noticed.
"Once I heard about Nelson, I just got scared,” Wisline Norvelus told Channel 9's Len Kiese. "They (school officials) told me that Nelson walked out of school. They don't know where Nelson was."
Norvelus said her son managed to escape the eyes of teachers and administrators, got past a fence and left the school unnoticed on Tuesday.
"I just want to know how did nobody not notice? Like, a little kid with nobody, like, no adult supervision, walk off property. How is that not noticed?” father Shilton Eugene said.
A spokesperson with the Orange County School District told Eyewitness News that it was aware of the incident but couldn't discuss more because of educational and privacy laws. The spokesperson also said the “occurrence” was under investigation.
Mother and father tell me their 5-year-old son was able to somehow walk off from his Orlando elementary school. Their concerns on #WFTVat4
— Len Kiese WFTV (@LenKieseTV) December 1, 2016
"My child is in school. I thought they would have, like, better supervision to watch over him,” Norvelus said.
"I think it's ridiculous,” Eugene said.
Nelson was found by a neighbor near the school who called the Orange County Sheriff's Office, the district said. He was returned to Rolling Hills Elementary School.
His parents told Eyewitness News that in the time he was gone, anything could have happened. They said he could have been hit by a car or even kidnapped.
"It can be to a white car that he thinks is mom. It can be a stranger that he thinks he's familiar with. It can by anything, and from that second, be gone,” Eugene said.
Nelson’s mother has a meeting with school officials Friday.
A spokesperson for the district sent a statement Thursday:
“We are committed to the safety of all our students. Immediately after the school became aware that a student was found off campus, the administrators identified and retrieved the student and safely returned him to school. The student's parent was notified immediately upon their return. We are thoroughly investigating this incident and taking appropriate measures to ensure a similar incident does not occur in the future.”
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