Student With Autism Transported to Wrong School Bus Stop

SILVER SPRING, Md. — A 15-year-old student with autism was supposed to be dropped off at a school bus stop here recently, but instead was transported to a stop in Baltimore, authorities said.

On Dec. 12, the teen from Rockville High School, who is nearly non-verbal, boarded the bus shortly after school let out at 2:30 p.m., according to The Baltimore Sun. At around 6:30 p.m., the Montgomery Police Department received a call from the student’s parents who reported their son as missing, ABC7 reports. Montgomery County Public Schools worked with police to locate the student's bus, which was later found parked at a Holiday Inn a few blocks from Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, according to ABC7.

Sgt. Rebecca Innocenti, a spokesperson for the Montgomery Police Department, told The Baltimore Sun that the student was still on board, and that officers were able to safely transport the student home at around 8:46 p.m.

Derek Turner, a spokesperson for Montgomery County Public Schools, told The Baltimore Sun that it was unclear whether the bus went to Silver Spring and the student did not depart from the bus or whether the bus failed to make its stop. Turner added that school officials are investigating the incident, and that no action has been taken against the bus driver or attendant.