MIDDLESBROUGH, England, Feb. 17 (UPI) -- A 3-year-old boy who strayed from his preschool traveled 1.5 miles, passing by several roads and heavy woodland before finding his way back home.
It took Crain Trainor, of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, in England only 40 minutes to reach his doorstep, safe and sound.
"I walked past the lollipop lady," Crain told The Evening Gazette in an interview on Monday. He then explained how he also walked past what locals call "Devil's Bridge" onto a road and then "down an alley" that eventually led him back to his home.
The incident took place last Tuesday at Little Owls Playgroup during Crain's first day. His mother, Gemma Trainor, said she was at work when she received the terrifying phone call about her son from staff members at the day care who "were all in tears."
"[It] was the worst moment of my life," she said, adding that the Little Owls Playground staff said they lost track of her son "when they were walking back to the grounds of the playschool."
Luckily for the 31-year-old mom, a neighbor saw Crain walking outside and immediately called her to let her know her toddler was safe.
Despite the fright she endured while her son went missing for nearly an hour, this busy mom will continue to take Crain to Little Owls because they reassured her the playschool would "put in various safeguards to ensure it wouldn't happen again."
Trainor said she transferred the boy to Little Owls from a previous nursery school because he liked it better and his best friend also goes there. "It was also cheaper and on the grounds of the school," Gemma told ParentDish.com. Little Owls playgroup's parent school, Newham Bridge, prides itself on having "exceptional skills with children," who range between the ages of 2 and 5, its website states.
Kate Murphy, the manager at Little Owls Playgroup, said in a statement that she was so grateful the Trainor family will continue to send their son to the facility. She also thanked the Trainors for being "entirely understanding of what happened."
