Student wanders from Plattekill Elementary playground, prompting major police search
The 6-year-old boy was found wet in a wooded area approximately an hour later. School officials are reviewing how the student managed to leave the playground.
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A 6-year-old boy who wandered away from a supervised playground at an Ulster County elementary school on Monday prompted a massive police search involving multiple agencies, ATVs, a K-9 unit and a drone.
Wallkill Central School District Superintendent Anthony White says the child left the playground at Plattekill Elementary School around 1 p.m. and entered a wooded area adjacent to the school.
According to White, school staff immediately recognized what happened and notified the main office and school resource officer by radio.
Plattekill police, Ulster County sheriff’s deputies and New York State Police searched the surrounding woods. Authorities established a command center behind Our Lady of Fatima Church next door, deploying ATVs, a sheriff’s K-9 unit and a drone to help locate the child.
The boy was found safe approximately one hour later in a wooded area behind the church. Authorities say the child was wet when he was located, raising additional questions about where he may have been during the search.
Plattekill police say there are patches of muddy water in the wooded area, and there is also a creek nearby. It’s unclear how the boy became wet or whether he entered the water at any point.
EMS evaluated the child, but he did not require medical treatment, according to the district.
Meanwhile, parents and grandparents in the district who spoke with News 12 expressed concerns about how a young child could wander away from a supervised playground.
One district mother says her son came home wondering why he hadn’t been allowed outside to play and that she received communication from the school about the missing student.
“My kid is there. I was actually concerned thinking it was him,” she told News 12.
A grandmother who has lived in the district for 20 years also questioned how the child managed to get away.
“How could a child be missing? I know they have more than one teacher out there,” she said.
Both women asked not to be identified and expressed relief that the boy was found safe.
White says the district is reviewing how the student was able to leave the playground. He says students are supervised during recess by staff members equipped with radios to communicate with the main office and school resource officer.
Plattekill police say a debriefing with school officials is planned for this week to review the incident.
The district says it will also meet with those involved to determine whether additional safety measures are needed to prevent something similar from happening again.
