{"id":234641,"date":"2025-10-23T09:03:12","date_gmt":"2025-10-23T09:03:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/234641\/"},"modified":"2025-10-23T09:03:12","modified_gmt":"2025-10-23T09:03:12","slug":"mother-breaks-silence-after-autistic-son-went-missing-from-childcare-in-brisbane-and-tragically-died-two-days-later","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/234641\/","title":{"rendered":"Mother breaks silence after autistic son went missing from childcare in Brisbane and tragically died two days later"},"content":{"rendered":"

A mother has spoken out about the terrifying ordeal when her young autistic son went missing from a childcare centre<\/a> only two days before his tragic and unrelated death.<\/p>\n

Jazmin Spence, 35, was terrified to find her five-year-old son Theodore missing when she arrived to pick him up from Busy Bees Early Learning Centre on Harries Rd in Coorparoo, Brisbane<\/a> about 5.55pm on February 17, 2023.<\/p>\n

The five-year-old left through an emergency exit without being seen, the Queensland<\/a> Department of Education said.<\/p>\n

Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today \"Download<\/a><\/p>\n

The centre is located above a Woolworths shopping complex with emergency exits leading to street level.<\/p>\n

Spence told 7NEWS.com.au when she arrived to pick up Theo, she signed him out and walked to the playground, but \u201cinstantly just knew he wasn\u2019t there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Conflicting staff answers spark panic<\/p>\n

When staff gave conflicting answers where he was, the panic set in.<\/p>\n

The non-verbal boy with level three autism and a severe heart condition was supposed to be under one-to-one supervision.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all started running around the centre, looking in any of the rooms,\u201d Spence recalled.<\/p>\n

\u201cI called the police straight away. It was all happening so fast.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the same time Theo\u2019s father, who had waited outside in the car, started searching the streets.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy partner Luke went to the Woolies and asked the staff if they\u2019d seen our son, and they said that they\u2019d seen him about 15 minutes prior,\u201c Spence recalled.<\/p>\n

Theo was later found on the busy four-lane Old Cleveland Rd shortly after 6pm by a member of the public.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe police had managed to pull up in time with a member of the public as he was on the corner of the road,\u201d Spence said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo it was very, very lucky that he wasn\u2019t killed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fact he got through the first road and then across that little side street and then to that corner \u2014 it\u2019s honestly a miracle he wasn\u2019t killed by a car that day or seriously hurt.<\/p>\n

\"JazminJazmin Spence says she\u2019ll never forget the day her son Theo went missing from Busy Bees Early Learning Centre in Coorparoo. The childcare provider has since been fined over the incident. Credit: Jazmin Spence \/ Busy Bees CoorparooEarlier concerns<\/p>\n

Before this incident, Spence already had raised concerns with the centre about whether they would be able to meet Theo\u2019s complex needs and keep him safe.<\/p>\n

As he was nonverbal, he expressed himself through behaviour and sounds.<\/p>\n

Spence said she felt brushed off.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt didn\u2019t feel like I was listened to,\u201d she said. \u201cI was just a number.<\/p>\n

\u201cI asked them if they were sure they could handle him. I asked if they had enough staff to meet his needs. They reassured me they did.\u201d<\/p>\n

But she said Theo was often not given his bottles or specific foods.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe only ate legit five different things,\u201d she said, explaining Theo had surgery because his heart was wrapped around his esophagus, which made swallowing and breathing hard.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis muscles didn\u2019t work properly, so he struggled to eat normal food.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe only ate yogurt \u2014 one type of yogurt \u2014 chips, rice crackers, very bland stuff, and his bottles.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was still very much on his formula bottles.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd one of the ladies didn\u2019t think he should be on it because he\u2019s five years old and tried restricting him.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo he ended up smashing the glass to the sliding door twice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Childcare centre fined<\/p>\n

Busy Bees Early Learning Centre was fined on Wednesday over Theo\u2019s unnoticed disappearance.<\/p>\n

The childcare provider was hit with a $12,500 fine and ordered to pay $2105.35 in court costs.<\/p>\n

However, no conviction was recorded against the centre.<\/p>\n

\u201cI get where the judge was coming from. Do I fully agree with the fine? No,\u201d Spence told 7NEWS.com.au.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of my biggest issues is no conviction. I feel there should be a record, so anyone looking up the centre knows they\u2019ve been charged.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey should own it and have the conviction on their record.\u201d<\/p>\n

The centre issued a statement accepting responsibility and said they implemented new CCTV, gates, and staff training.<\/p>\n

After moving to Brisbane, Spence said she was concerned about safety from the beginning when enrolling Theo at the inner-city centre.<\/p>\n

She believed stronger measures should have already been in place back then to protect him.<\/p>\n

The family had relocated from Ipswich to Brisbane to access better NDIS support for Theo and his older brother Grayson, who is also autistic.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was told moving closer to the city meant more support and faster access,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why I moved to Coorparoo. We\u2019ve always lived on property, so I wouldn\u2019t have left Ipswich otherwise.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter I managed to get what I needed from the city, I decided it was best for the kids to go back where they\u2019re more comfortable, where they can be themselves and be a bit freer.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought I wouldn\u2019t have to worry as much, but I was wrong about their safety. I honestly thought coming back here would be bliss.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TheoTheo with his mum, winding down with his beloved bottle \u2014 one of the few foods and drinks he enjoyed after heart surgery. Credit: Jazmin SpenceTheo runs off again after moving back home<\/p>\n

Just two days after Theo wandered off unnoticed from the childcare centre in Coorparoo, he drowned the very day the family moved back to Ipswich on February 19.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was moving day,\u201d Spence recalled.<\/p>\n

With nowhere secure set up yet in their new home to leave Theo, Spence said she left him strapped in his car seat just to quickly get the last item inside \u2014 the fridge that wouldn\u2019t fit through the front door.<\/p>\n

\u201cLuke and I were moving the fridge around the back up the stairs, and next minute I heard Theo\u2019s sounds,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Before she could react, Theo was no longer in the car seat.<\/p>\n

The five-year-old ran into the thick paddock grass.<\/p>\n

The grass on their new property was over chest height, and they didn\u2019t see which way Theo ran.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe didn\u2019t know which way he ran,\u201d Spence said. \u201cI lost him. It couldn\u2019t have been longer than two or three minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d just left him to help Luke with the fridge, and then suddenly he was gone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Remembering Theo<\/p>\n

The shock and heartbreak of that moment remain with Spence.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy heart sank and I just knew,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a feeling I\u2019ll never forget, that\u2019s for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Spence told 7NEWS.com.au the family still lives on the property because she can\u2019t bear to leave.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt will be three years this February,\u201d she said. \u201cI can\u2019t leave. It\u2019s my home. It\u2019s Theo\u2019s last home. I feel like if I leave here, I\u2019m leaving him.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause I look out the back and the mountain I see is the mountain he went over and the dam\u2019s on that other side.<\/p>\n

\u201cI see the sunset over it. Yeah, it\u2019s just … it\u2019s his mountain.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reflecting on Theodore\u2019s life, his mum said, \u201cHe was full of life. That boy had energy like you would never believe. He brightened your life and taught you things without you even realising it.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Heartbreak as The Voice star dies after cancer diagnosis: \u2018Beyond courageous\u2019<\/p>\n

2 min read<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Details emerge as parents chase allegedly stolen caravan with children inside<\/p>\n

2 min read<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A mother has spoken out about the terrifying ordeal when her young autistic son went missing from a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":234642,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[14001,23800,43,43669,44,8690,41,39,42,40],"class_list":["post-234641","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-child-care","tag-courts-justice","tag-headlines","tag-ipswich","tag-news","tag-queensland-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/234641","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=234641"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/234641\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/234642"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=234641"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=234641"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=234641"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}