SEVILLE, Fla. — A 1-year-old and a toddler escaped from a day care Wednesday through a hole in a fence, according to the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies said a woman called 911 after finding the children walking toward U.S. 1 from the parking lot of the Kangaroo gas station.
About 15 to 20 minutes later, staff members of Little Panda's Child Development Center arrived at the Kangaroo gas station, looking for the children, investigators said.
Deputies said day care worker Marcia Navarro, 50, was responsible for the children and “failed to properly supervise them.”
"It’s a good day care. They really take good care of the kids, as far as I know. I never had an incident like this" said one parent.
According to an incident report, Navarro said she was taking the children inside the classroom from the playground when she lost sight of the children. Navarro stated she completed a headcount and noticed two were missing from the group.
Navarro said she called the director of the school, Aurora Gomez, to make her aware of the situation. Navarro said she and other staff members searched the school grounds and noticed the fenced gate leading to the parking lot was open, and that is when Navarro and a co-worker went to the nearby Kangaroo gas station.
Navarro was charged with child neglect.
Deputies said there were also problems with the fence around the day care and it was not secured. The fenced gate was unlocked, deputies said.
The Department of Children and Families was notified, deputies said.
The day care did not comment.
Cox Media Group
