Fort Worth mom demands answers after 5-year-old leaves school unnoticed – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth

A Fort Worth mother is demanding answers after her 5-year-old son left Rufino Mendoza Elementary School unnoticed Monday and was found crying in the street by a stranger about two blocks away.

Isabel Barrera was visiting her parents in Fort Worth’s Northside around 11 a.m. when she spotted the boy, Elijah, alone.

“I see a little boy in the street he’s running, crying and I think my mom instincts just kicked in,” Barrera said.

“He hugged me and I hugged him back and I was like, ‘Are you OK?’ and at that point all I could think about was he’s someone’s baby.”

Elijah was not able to say much, but Barrera noticed the name of his school on his shirt. She drove him back to Rufino Mendoza Elementary and told staff what happened.

“They’re like OK and everybody starts freaking out; they’re like ‘Oh my God, we didn’t even know he got out,’” Barrera said.

Barrera said she asked staff whether they planned to notify Elijah’s parents and was told they would.

But Elijah’s mother, Rebeakah Alcaraz, said she was initially given a different account of what happened.

“They said that he had walked out of the building but that two employees and the security guard had got to him before he was able to leave and they brought him back inside,” Alcaraz said.

Alcaraz said she later saw a Facebook group post from Barrera’s husband and realized a stranger had actually found her son away from campus.

Alcaraz and Elijah’s grandmother met with school and district staff Tuesday.

“I feel like we’re being dismissed,” Alcaraz said.

In a statement to NBC 5, Fort Worth ISD said the kindergartner left campus during lunch and was safely located by a community member before being returned to school.

“District and campus administrators have been reviewing the circumstances surrounding the incident and will take any necessary steps to strengthen existing safety protocols and procedures.”

Alcaraz said the experience has left her worried about her son’s safety.

“They traumatized my little boy. They traumatized me as a parent and I fear for his safety now at that school,” Alcaraz said.

This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC DFW. AI tools helped convert the story into a digital article, and an NBC DFW journalist edited it again before publication.