Police: Nonverbal 7-year-old 'was able to sneak off' from Winton Woods school

A Cincinnati mom is calling for accountability after she said her 7-year-old autistic child was found wandering in a Greenhills neighborhood after "he was able to sneak off" from Winton Woods South Campus.

Erica Oba said her son, who is nonverbal, was found by police on Hamlin Drive after 2 p.m. Thursday after officers were called to the area for the report of a boy attempting to get into homes.

The officer who found the child wrote in the police report that the child was unable to tell officers where he belonged, so he took the child to Winton Woods South Campus to determine whether staff recognized him — and they did.

According to Oba's police report, the child "was outside for recess with about 20 other students and four adults when he was able to sneak off."

Greenhills police gave the boy back to the school's principal and his teacher; the police report notes the child was OK and "in good physical condition."

The report does not elaborate on how the 7-year-old child was able to leave the school's grounds under the supervision of four adults or how long he was gone.

"Why did this happen?" Oba asked. "How did it happen when you have four adults outside watching these children?"

To get to where officers found him, Oba said her son would have had to go through a parking lot, a creek and a small hill.

Oba said the school did not call her until more than 20 minutes after the officer brought her son back. When she tried to ask questions, she said the school had police escort her away.

"Nobody has nothing to tell me," she said. "Nobody has no paperwork. They have nothing."

Police did not say whether anyone would be charged in this case.

WCPO called the district Friday. A spokesperson took down a request for comment but nothing had been heard by the time of this story's publication.

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