Families upset after young students walk off campus during lunch

Two families are upset with their children's charter school after a pair of second grade students walked off campus property during lunchtime, taking officials over an hour to find them.

"She's a special needs child. She's got autism. How did she escape?" asked Renae, who isn't sharing her last name over privacy concerns for the children.

During lunch Monday, Renae's daughter and her daughter's friend, a 7-year-old boy, walked out the back gate of Ascent Academy in West Valley City.

"They had subs that day," said Renae. "Nobody noticed she was missing."

West Valley City Police got involved in the search, with the mother of the boy finding the children in a neighborhood near Fassio Farm Park just before 1 p.m.

"She came home with sores. She was soaking wet," said Renae.

After the incident, Ascent Academies of Utah sent out a statement.

"We take the safety and well-being of our students very seriously and have been working closely with parents to address the situation," wrote Wade Glather, the school's lead director. "West Valley Police assisted the school and have investigated the incident. Our staff followed school protocol and we are grateful the students returned to the school unharmed. We will continue to monitor and ensure the safety of all our students."

Fire officials do not allow the school to lock any exit doors or gates in case of emergency. The school is working with the Fire Marshal to pursue other options to prevent something like this from happening again.

Ascent Academy said they've already made changes to the way the lunchroom is supervised. If there are two substitutes like there were Monday, the school will send in additional support staff to provide an extra set of eyes and ensure students stay where they need to be.

As for Renae, she plans on pulling both of her children out of the school.