Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Glasgow Live
Glasgow Live
National
Gemma Ryder & Holly Lennon

Glasgow dad slams childcare centre after seven-year-old autistic son goes missing barefoot

An autistic child was found wandering around barefoot on a Glasgow street after going missing from his childcare centre.

Seven-year-old Carson managed to leave through the fire exit of the Caring Operations Joint Action Council centre in Castlemilk at around 5.10pm on Tuesday afternoon.

Peter McKie only found out his son was missing when he arrived to collect him at around 5.40pm and immediately went out searching.

Carson was found at the side of the road near the Castlemilk shopping centre with no socks or shoes on.

He told the Daily Record: "Carson is severely autistic, he can't communicate and can't look after himself.

"It was me that eventually found him. Nobody phoned to say what had happened.

Read more: Glasgow nursery forced to shut to kids after being torched by 'mindless' vandals

"I drove around like an absolute maniac and it was just by luck that I found him near the shopping centre where he seemed to be distracted by a puddle.

"He could have been knocked down by a car or taken away.

"My mind was racing at the time and I just thought I wasn't going to see my son again."

Carson went missing from his childcare centre in Castlemilk (Contributed)

Peter is now demanding answers over the incident, claiming he and his wife Teresa were not notified about Carson's disappearance at the time.

He said it allegedly took staff three minutes to realise his son was gone despite the family paying for him to have one-to-one care.

Peter claims when the centre’s manager was approached about it, she didn’t have a clue Carson was even missing.

He added: "I've been paying for him to go twice a week to get one-to-one support for the last year after it was recommended by social workers.

"If he has one-to-one care, how on earth did he even get to the fire exit to get out?

"All that the centre have said so far is that they're sorry.

"When I asked 'how this could happen?', they just said they don't know. I asked if any disciplinary action would be taken against staff and they said it would depend on how severe it is.

"I would say this is pretty severe!

"It takes a lot for us to trust someone with the safety of our son and this is what happens. It's very worrying."

The COJAC Centre has since launched an investigation into the incident.

Angela Friel, COJAC Centre Manager, said: "We are treating this incident extremely seriously and an investigation is underway to clarify what happened.

"Appropriate authorities have been informed and we are working with them as they undertake their own investigation.

"The child was found safe and well."

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.