Parents' Horror as Five-Year-Old Son Vanishes from School
A family in Los Angeles County is confronting a school district over a terrifying security failure after their five-year-old son managed to leave his after-school programme unnoticed and was discovered wandering alone near a busy highway.
Natalie and Brett Epstein's son, Oliver, attends kindergarten and an after-school programme at North Park Elementary School in Valencia. The alarming incident occurred on November 4, when the young boy somehow slipped out of the building and off the school grounds without any staff member realising he was gone.
A Frantic Discovery on a Dangerous Road
More than three hours after his disappearance, Oliver was found not by school officials, but by the family's nanny. Martha spotted the crying boy walking unaccompanied along McBean Parkway, a stretch of road where cars race by, nearly 1.2 miles from his school. He was near a McDonald's restaurant.
Martha immediately called a frantic Brett Epstein, picked Oliver up, and drove him home. Meanwhile, the boy's mother, Natalie, was given false reassurance. When she called the after-school programme, she was told Oliver was safely on campus—even as he was pulling into the family's driveway with the nanny.
"It's really bad between Copperhill and McBean," Natalie told KTLA. "The cars are racing by. When he was found, he was crying. It's heartbreaking as a mother. I feel like I wasn't there to protect him."
School District Response and Parental Outcry
The Saugus Union School District Superintendent, Dr. Colleen Hawkins, issued a statement acknowledging the event. She confirmed an investigation was launched immediately after the district was alerted and the child was confirmed safe with his family.
"Based on what we learned from this incident, appropriate corrective action has been taken including but not limited to improvements in student supervision protocols and in securing facilities," Dr. Hawkins stated. The school added that further comment was limited due to personnel and pupil privacy matters.
For Oliver's parents, this response is insufficient. They argue that only blind luck prevented a tragedy. "If it weren't for our nanny finding him, a police officer would have been at our door telling us our son had been hit by a car," Natalie said.
Oliver still attends North Park Elementary but has been removed from the after-school programme. His parents are now campaigning for major safety reforms. Brett Epstein addressed the school board directly, delivering a powerful plea for change.
"Think about what I'm telling you. Our 5-year-old son crossed busy streets alone. He walked past strangers, any one of whom could have abducted him," Brett told the board. "He was one distracted driver, one wrong turn and one predator away from a news story that destroys families."
In a significant subsequent development, Dr. Hawkins announced her retirement from the district, effective July 1, 2026.
