DETROIT – A 5-year-old boy is home and safe with his parents, but for more than an hour Thursday no one knew where he was.
Someone picked the boy up from Edison Elementary School off Grand River Avenue. He was later found walking alone near Fenkell and Prevost avenues -- a half-mile from the school.
"I was yelling for them, but they didn't hear me because I was lost," said Kevin Rice.
"They gave him to somebody. They don't know who it is," said Evan Greer, Rice's father.
Greer said Thursday was his son's first day of kindergarten at his new school on Detroit's west side.
But when Greer went to pick Kevin up, he said, "The lady told me, 'Yeah, somebody already came and picked him up.'"
Greer said he was told an older man picked his son up. That's when he began to panic.
"You hear all the stories about kids getting raped and coming up missing for four years. You know, that's what I thought was going on with my son," said Greer.
Meanwhile the 5-year-old said he was on a bus at one time but was dropped off. Then he just started walking all by himself, yelling for his parents and trying to find his way home.
That's where Patricia Ford comes in. She was sitting in her car at Fenkell and Provost.
"He walked over to the car and I was like, 'Hey, little man,' and his face was really sad," said Ford. "I was asking him what was wrong, 'Are you lost?' He said, 'Yes.' From that point I grabbed him, gathered his trust and talked him into getting into the car."
Kevin must have an A in the math -- he knows his numbers.
"He said, '1..313...' and kept going. I was like, 'OK, he knew some things,'" Ford said.
He had memorized his dad's cellphone number.
"I thought the parents did a great job in teaching him the proper info in case something goes wrong," said Ford.
Ford called and stayed on the phone with dad until she got to the school, where Kevin was reunited with his family.
Kevin is happy now, but his father wants answers.
"He was missing for an hour. They don't know who took him, the bus driver saying that he didn't take him," said Greer. "It's all about the what ifs. My son was missing for an hour. He could have been anywhere within an hour."
Michelle Zdrodowski, Chief Communications Officer of Detroit Public Schools, released the follow statement to Local 4:
"The safety and security of our students is a top priority for Detroit Public Schools. The Detroit Public Schools Police Department is investigating the reported incident that occurred this afternoon at Edison Elementary."