PHOENIX — Two second-grade girls who walked off campus at Shaw Montessori in downtown Phoenix were found safe after a three-hour search that brought the community together in a powerful display of support.
The students left campus around 3 p.m. Monday in triple-digit heat, prompting an extensive search effort that included parents, staff, and even the Phoenix Police helicopter.
Miranda Wilfrert received an alarming call from her husband that afternoon.
"We're not coming home yet, two little girls are missing," Wilfrert said.
Her husband joined other parents and staff members canvassing the area looking for the missing children.
By 6 p.m., Phoenix police found the two girls unharmed just a block and a half away from the campus in an apartment lobby.
Principal Susan Engdall showed me the front door where the second-graders exited the school. She explained the students walked past mulch intended for the campus gardens, hid behind rocks, and then left the property.
"It was terrifying," Engdall said.
She noted that the door must remain unlocked as part of fire code requirements.
"Supervision is one thing, and we failed on first line. Our school does believe in freedom of responsibility so the girls were merely going out to use the restroom and then left the campus," Engdall said.
To prevent similar incidents in the future, the school is taking immediate action.
"Put our systems back in place that were in place that got relaxed," Engdall said.
If there's any positive outcome from this frightening situation, it's that both Principal Engdall and parents like Wilfrert were reminded their students are learning in a place where the community will rally together when children need help.
"People were posting it in their different neighborhoods, they were getting off work early, to pound that pavement because it's hot. It brings me to tears to know, I don't even know these people," Wilfrert said.
A parent conference will follow this incident to determine appropriate consequences. Principal Engdall says the school holds themselves accountable, but there's a learning opportunity for everyone involved.
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