'It was terrifying': Child wanders out of local daycare

Child wanders away from daycare WATCH: A Regina mother is raising awareness about daycare safety after her child wandered out of the building. Luke Simard has more.

A Regina woman is hoping to raise awareness for safety protocols at daycares across the city after her child wandered away from a daycare during the day.

Lenora Bitternose dropped off her three-year-old son at YWCA Regina on Tuesday.

At the end of the work day, Bitternose arrived at the daycare, but her son was nowhere to be found.

“They checked with a manager, they checked the other facility upstairs and they could not find him,” said Bitternose. “I panicked, I started panicking and I was scared.”

Bitternose called police, who connected her with child services. They told her that her son was found wandering outside of the daycare.

Bitternose was reunited with her son two hours after she arrived at the daycare.

“It is like a living nightmare and it has been for the last two days,” said Bitternose. “I can’t stop thinking, I can’t sleep, I can’t eat, and I can’t stop thinking about what could have happened to my son.”

In a Facebook post, YWCA Regina said there is an ongoing investigation into the incident.

“We have done an internal investigation, and have taken steps already to ensure that it does not happen again,” said Melissa Coomber-Bendtsen, the CEO for YWCA Regina.

She said there will be steps taken to include safety features.

“Additional safety features on doors and things like that, we need to add,” said Coomber-Bendtsen. “We have also added training to make sure people are aware of the procedures that are in place.”

Coombes-Bendtsen acknowledged the severity of the situation.

“I fully acknowledge how terrifying it is for the family and I think our ability to take action to make sure it does not happen again is something we take very seriously,” she said.

Bitternose hopes the situation brings awareness to parents and other daycares.

“I am hoping that this will bring awareness to procedures and protocols in daycares to help so this kind of thing does not happen,” she said.

In the meantime, Bitternose has pulled her son out of the daycare and is looking for alternative childcare arrangements.