Five-year-old walks off from elementary school

A South Austin mother wants to know why her 5-year-old daughter so easily walked off from her elementary school Thursday. Austin police later found the girl down the road near a busy intersection.

Samantha Rosales is 5-year-old Camilla's mother. But what happened Thursday was a mother's worst nightmare.

“I was horrified, big time,” Rosales said.

Running late Thursday afternoon a family friend went to Baty Elementary School to pick the kindergartener up from her after-school program, but she was nowhere to be found.

“I was dumbfounded at first, I'm like well nobody was supposed to pick her up, you're the only one who's supposed to come get her,” she said.

Rosales says she immediately jumped in her car and headed to the school to find out what happened.

“The school didn't even know she wasn't here. Nobody contacted me,” she said.

Rosales says her daughter knows the way home, and most likely realized no-one was there to pick her up, so she started to walk home. Austin police quickly got involved, and found her at the Dollar General on Riverside Drive.

“They saw a little girl walking up ahead, and they described to me her clothes and I said that's my daughter,” she said.

Rosales talked with the Del Valle superintendent who assured her they will do always do their best to protect their students. They released a statement saying:

"Due to privacy laws, the district is unable to comment on your request. Del Valle I.S.D. administration, faculty and staff are committed to maintaining a safe school environment. Administration thoroughly investigates any claims or incidents are we are committed to the safety and education of all our students,”-Del Valle I.S.D.

Rosales says she is just happy she could see her daughter's smiling face again.

“Just the thought of anything that kept me up at night, what could've happened is horrifying,” she said.