14-Year-Old Neurodivergent Child Is Abducted By A Stranger During Her School's Disney World Trip After Her Chaperone Failed To Notice Her Absence

"I’d have to be escorted off school property too. I would have been absolutely feral."

Chelsi

• Published in Weird
• August 10, 2023

A mom lived the worst nightmare any parent could have when her daughter went missing during a school trip. OP's 14-year-old daughter has autism.

She has been talking ears off about their school's trip to Disney World. OP only agreed to allow her daughter to go on the field trip if the school appointed a chaperone to supervise her.

OP couldn't be with her daughter that day as she has to go to work. The school agreed and assigned one of the teachers to look after OP's daughter.

OP dropped her daughter off at school at 6 AM promptly for the field trip. She went back to the school around 10 to 11 PM the same day to wait for the students to arrive.

The anxious mom got out of her car when her daughter was nowhere to be found. No one knew where OP's daughter was.

OP then got a phone call from the Orlando Police, who found her daughter at a hotel with a stranger. Her daughter thought he was one of the school's chaperones and went with him.

OP drove four hours to get to the police station. Her daughter ran up to OP the moment she saw her — she hugged OP as she cried and apologized for what happened.

OP's daughter only nodded when she asked if she was okay

A hotel staff called the police when they noticed the stranger's odd behavior

The stranger that took OP's daughter has been arrested

OP doesn't know what that stranger did to her daughter

Her daughter hasn't been back to school since the incident

OP went to the school to give them a piece of her mind. They made flimsy excuses and cited their policy. OP did not appreciate their response. She had to be escorted from the premises after a 10-minute tirade.

OP's daughter has not said a word since the incident. She only leaves her room to eat.

OP is consulting with a lawyer if they have grounds to sue the school. But she is scared for her daughter. OP feels she failed to protect her daughter.

How did the teacher in charge of OP's daughter overlook that the specific student they were supposed to be supervising was nowhere to be found?

Aren't they supposed to count the number of students once they're inside the bus?

OP needs to talk to her lawyer how to best approach this

The level of neglect and incompetence displayed here should not be repeated. It endangers all the students.

OP should take her daughter for a complete physical and full STD panel at the hospital as soon as possible. There is no telling what that criminal did to her.

OP shouldn't back down from this fight. She almost lost her daughter because of the school's crap policy. Her daughter was hurt and taken by a complete stranger hours away from home and none of the adults noticed.

There is no telling how long before OP's daughter feels safe enough to talk about what happened. OP must keep reassuring her that she is not at fault for whatever it is that happened.

The rage Redditors feel on behalf of OP is felt through their comments. I cannot imagine how OP must have felt when she noticed that her daughter was gone.

That was certainly a waking nightmare for any parent. May OP and her daughter get the justice they deserve.

Chelsi