Fredericton mom frightened when daycare worker picks up her kid by mistake

Misunderstanding creates scare at school Parent asks school board to bring in more stringent pick-up procedures for students. Jessica Ng reports.

FREDERICTON -- Ashley Heatherington kept her children home from school on Wednesday.

She's worried about their safety after an incident at Priestman Street School on Monday around 2 p.m.

"I had noticed a lady grabbed Bryson's arm and started walking away with him," Heatherington said of her son.

It's someone she says she didn't recognize.

"She started walking down the parking lot with him to her car and I just thought, 'no way, she's taking my kid," Heatherington said. "And I ran and I screamed his name. He looked at me and I was scared."

Heatherington called police, who say the woman was a daycare worker, who was there to pick up another boy with the same name and take him swimming.

"If a person's going to tell him that they're going to take him swimming, they're all for it," Heatherington said. "He's five years old. This is his first year of school."

Fredericton police say they have concluded their investigation and are in conversation with the school, Heatherington, and the daycare worker in question. In a statement to CTV News, the school board says in part:

"We want to assure you that, contrary to reports on social media, there was no attempted kidnapping at Priestman Street School and there is no safety issue for students or the school."

Judy Cole, the Anglophone West School District spokesperson, says the school board sees the situation as a "total misunderstanding," although, she does say it is a matter of practice for administration to review any concern that arises as a result of a situation at the school.

But Heatherington isn't satisfied  with how the school and the board have handled this situation.

"It was a mistake on the school's end that shouldn't have happened," Heatherington said. "My kid almost got taken by a stranger. That's not right."

She says she's just happy the kids are home and are safe.

This is something all parents dread happening to their children.

The school board wasn't able to tell say if Priestman Street School has a dismissal policy for young children, but a note was sent home to parents at the school trying to assure them that there are no safety concerns.