Tulsa Kindergartners Missing From School For About Three Hours

A Tulsa mother got a scare when she arrived to pick up her daughter at Skelly Elementary and found the 5-year-old missing. Two kindergartners were gone for about three hours after they left the school during recess Thursday, according to Tulsa Public Schools.

The teacher in charge of the girls has been put on paid suspension pending the outcome into an investigation.

The two girls told school personnel that they left the school located near 31st and Memorial because they wanted to go down the street to McDonald's, TPS Public Information Officer Chris Payne told News On 6.

Employees at Jim Glover Chevrolet found the pair playing near a drainage ditch. They questioned the girls about their families. The children answered that their parents and grandparents were dead, and they just needed to get back to school, according to Payne.

The car dealership called police.

"It should not have happened," Payne said. "Teachers are supposed to count children throughout the day."

The children were unharmed but were gone from school until about 2:30 p.m.

Payne said the school principal has reviewed the procedures put in place to prevent students from wandering off.

"She's convinced they have the right procedures in place; they just weren't fully used by the teacher," he said.