Boy Goes Missing For More Than A Hour After Getting Off At The Wrong Bus Stop

A 4-year-old was missing for more than an hour Friday after he got off at the wrong bus stop, ending up taking a nap on his couch as school and bus officials as well as the sheriff's department searched for him, according to the Sussex Sun. 

The paper said as the driver was helping two other children cross the street after getting off the bus, the boy disembarked.   

He "was supposed to get off where his babysitter was waiting for him further down the line, ended up getting off when he recognized his own neighborhood," according to the paper, who noted that the boy went missing at about 4:20 p.m.

"So the bus driver was taking care of the two students who were crossing the street, and this other student kind of snuck out," explained Hamilton School District public information coordinator Denise Dorn-Lindberg to the paper. The student made his way to his house, let himself in, and fell asleep on the couch.

But before anyone knew he was safe in his own home, a series of communication procedures were set into motion, the Sun said. The bus driver informed his dispatcher that a child was missing and the babysitter called the district when the child did not arrive, according to the paper. The school called the sheriff's department and the Dairyland bus company began searching for the boy, the paper said. 

The boy's father found him asleep on the couch at 5:40 p.m., the paper said.