Ottawa parents demand answers after boy, 11, not dropped off by school bus
An Ottawa family is demanding answers after their son went missing for five hours following his pickup from school on Monday.
The parents say their son Nathan, an 11-year-old Grade 6 student, wandered around an unfamiliar neighbourhood for hours until a Good Samaritan intervened and helped him get home safely.
The student got into the school transport minivan that normally takes him home from Pierre Elliott Trudeau Catholic elementary school in Barrhaven, but the driver didn’t take him home.
"He was supposed to be home as usual at about 20 minutes after four, and then we noticed by 4:50 he wasn't home yet," Nathan’s father said.
The parents do not want to be identified because of the nature of their work.
About 30 minutes after Nathan’s usual drop-off time, the parents contacted Roxborough Bus Lines.
"They called the driver and the driver said they never picked our son up after school. They said he never went into the van."
Other parents, however, said they had seen Nathan get into the van. For unknown reasons, the driver of the van did not go to Nathan’s stop. Instead, she drove home, leaving Nathan alone in the vehicle despite him asking where they were going and banging on the windows. Parents suggested the driver was distracted by music.
"She's actually driving me to her apartment, which I did not know," Nathan told CTV News Ottawa on Friday. "I managed to get out of the van when she parked, but I didn't know which apartment building she went to.”
Nathan’s parents visited the school and contacted Ottawa police, who reported Nathan missing and put out a news release with his photo.
"The police went to the driver's house. She was adamant she never picked him up," Nathan's father said. "They searched the apartment, he wasn't there. They searched the van, he wasn't in the van."
Nick McRae, the owner and president of Roxborough Bus Lines, told CTV News the company is aware of the situation and cooperating with police as they continue their investigation. He said the driver has been suspended until the company receives more information from the police investigation.
A spokesperson for the Conseil des écoles catholiques du Centre-Est said school staff took immediate action when they learned a child had not made it home from school.
“As soon as the CECCE administration was made aware that a child had not made it back home after school, actions were taken to support the family and the search efforts to find him as soon as possible,” the board said in a statement.
“In fact, teachers from École catholique élémentaire Pierre-Elliott-Trudeau searched the surrounding areas and a letter was sent to the school community. Social media posts including the child’s picture were also shared on the CECCE’s accounts.”
After walking around Westboro alone for hours, Nathan finally found help at the Tunney's Pasture light rail transit station, 19 kilometres away from his Barrhaven school.
"I was very tired and I found this guy waiting for his Uber and I asked him, 'Hey, can you Google this place?'" Nathan said.
That man was Dave Ellis, who was on his way home from a gathering downtown.
"He kind of made his way up to me very cautiously and he said, 'Can you help me?' And I said, OK, sure," Ellis said.
Nathan's family is new to Ottawa, and he didn't know his parents’ phone numbers. Nathan knew his neighbourhood and street name, so Ellis helped bring the child home.
"I got the driver to change the route and we took him home first and then brought me home," Ellis said.
"It's just very nice of him to allow me in the Uber and pay for it so he can drive me there," Nathan said.
Although Nathan is safe and back home, his parents are still looking to understand what happened.
"When I found out he was back, I was pretty relieved," Nathan's mom said. "But we're still left without any answers."
With files from CTV News Ottawa's Graham Richardson and Michael Woods
Correction
Nathan's parents say the child knew the street and neighbourhood where he lived. The story has been updated.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Spring allergy season has begun. Where is it worse in Canada?
The spring allergy season has started early in many parts of Canada, with high levels of pollen in some cities already. Experts weigh in on which areas have it worse so far this season.
'Nonsense:' Doug Ford slams lawsuits filed by Ontario school boards against social media platforms
Premier Doug Ford says that lawsuits launched by four Ontario school boards against a trio of social media platforms are “nonsense” and risk becoming a distraction to the work that really matters.
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
Record-breaking N.B. lottery winner kept winning ticket on dresser for nearly a year
A New Brunswicker will go to bed Thursday night much richer than he was Wednesday after collecting on a winning lottery ticket he let sit on his bedroom dresser for nearly a year.
Multiple bridges in Calgary shut down for police incident
Calgary police have shut down a number of bridges into and out of the downtown core as officers deal with a distraught individual.
King Charles calls for acts of friendship in first public remarks since Kate's cancer diagnosis
King Charles III gave public remarks for Maundy Thursday, addressing the importance of acts of friendship, following his and Catherine, Princess of Wales’ cancer diagnoses.
Fallen crypto mogul Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years in prison
Crypto entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced Thursday to 25 years in prison for a massive fraud that unravelled with the collapse of FTX, once one of the world's most popular platforms for exchanging digital currency.
A dog and a bird formed an unlikely friendship. Their separation has infuriated followers
Peggy is a stout and muscular Staffordshire bull terrier, and Molly is a magpie, an Australian bird best known for swooping on humans during breeding season, not for befriending dogs. But in an emotional video posted online, Peggy’s owners announced that the animals had been separated.
Tipping is off the table at this Toronto restaurant
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff.