Richmond boy with autism runs away from school, sneaks inside nearby home

RICHMOND, Ind. — A family in Richmond is demanding answers after their young son ran away from school and snuck inside a nearby home.

The seven-year-old elementary school student has autism. His mother, Shanalin Connery, said she got a phone call on Thursday from Rose Hamilton Elementary School about an incident that happened during recess. Connery said she thought her son had possibly gotten hurt on the playground.

Instead, the child snuck into a home just behind the school. The homeowners shared video with FOX59/CBS4 that shows the boy comfortably trotting around inside the house.

“This is wild to me,” Connery said. “I’m just mind blown. I’m just here watching video of my kid in somebody else’s home unsupervised.”

Time-stamped videos inside the home show the seven-year-old boy exploring the unfamiliar territory for nearly 10 minutes.

“They literally lost my child,” Connery said.

The mother of two said she still does not understand how her youngest was able to run away from school without a single person noticing. She also said his verbal skills are very limited, which could have made the situation even more dangerous.

“So he can’t talk to anybody and he can’t tell anybody who he is or where he is,” she said. “Anything could have happened to him. He could have been kidnapped. He could have walked into a house and been shot, because that happens. He could’ve been hit by a car. He could’ve fallen into a pond.”

Her son eventually returned back to the playground. His mother said she is just grateful he is okay.

“Instead of standing here talking to you guys, I could be at a funeral home right now planning my seven-year-old’s funeral,” Connery said.

Connery said the school did not call her until hours after the incident. She also said she did not find out her son ran inside a home until her husband picked him up from school. Now the family is demanding accountability.

“I think the principal should be fired,” she said. “I think she should lose her job and I don’t say that lightly.”

Connery said this issue also highlights the need for more resources in schools for students with autism and other special-ed children.

“There just needs to be more knowledge out there because autism is a spectrum and not one case is the same as somebody else’s,” she said.

The boy’s family said they are not sure whether they will send him back to Rose Hamilton Elementary School. His mother said she plans to meet with school officials again next week to try and get more answers.

FOX59/CBS4 reached out to the school district, which shared the following statement:

“We are aware of the situation you were contacted about and have started a full investigation into what took place yesterday. Until we are able to collect all of the facts and have the complete picture of exactly what took place, we will not make a comment that may be incorrect or misleading. As always, we will work to ensure our staff and students are safe at all times .”

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