A Fort Bend ISD mother said she was terrified when her special needs daughter did not arrive home from school at her usual time and did not return for about two hours.

Michelle Lemon said her daughter, Bryne, attends Hightower High School and is in ninth grade. Lemon said Bryne is typically picked up between 6:29 and 6:35 each morning and is scheduled to be dropped off at 2:50 p.m.

Lemon said that on Thursday, Bryne got on the school bus but did not make it home at the scheduled drop-off time. About 30 minutes later, Lemon called Fort Bend ISD transportation to locate her daughter, but said she did not get a clear answer and felt the person she spoke with lacked empathy.

“When that lady said ma’am describe your daughter, my heart sunk, umm what? I felt disappointed. I really felt like they didn’t care about my child at all,” Lemon said.

Lemon said an hour after the scheduled drop-off time, Bryne still was not home. Lemon said the bus driver told her Bryne’s name was not on the list and that an attendant who typically helps with routes was off.

“One she is riding on your bus everyday, to school and back, and today she is riding for a couple hours and you have no idea. My question is how long was my daughter on your bus before you realized you don’t know who she was,” Lemon said.

Lemon said Bryne arrived home at about 4:30 p.m. “Grabbed her immediately, gave her a hug,” Lemon said.

Lemon said Bryne is nonverbal, making it difficult to know how she felt. “She didn’t know if that could have been a sign of danger, if she was safe or not,” Lemon said.

Lemon said the high school got back to her as soon as possible, and that on Friday morning several district officials called her.

Fort Bend ISD said in a statement that Bryne “was never missing or left unsupervised.” The district also said Bryne did not have school identification with her, and that the bus driver called to verify the student’s information.

“How did that happen? I just need somebody to explain that to me, yes it slipped through the cracks, I just don’t know who it was,” Lemon said. “Let this be the first and last of what happens.”