2-year-old wanders alone near Lincolnway West, South Bend mother faults local day care center

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — A South Bend mother is demanding action from the state after her son was found wandering alone for nearly an hour around Lincolnway West, and she claims the staff at the day center she left him at didn’t know he was gone. 

According to the South Bend Police Department, a woman called 911 and said she found a boy on the road near North Johnson Street. Kasasanda Yobbe said this boy is her son, who on Monday  she claims was able to leave ‘New Vision Day Care’ on Lincolnway West when a staff member left  a door open. 

“They told me that one of the staff people was hot and that she propped the door open with a cooler to get some air,” Yobbe said. 

Police officers took custody of the boy when they arrived at N. Johnson St. The department said officers knocked on every nearby door to to find out where the child belonged. 

According to SBPD, when officers arrived at ‘New Vision Day Care’ they found out that the center is where the boy was supposed to be. 

“They said ‘Oh, he goes here,’” Yobbe said. 

ABC 57 News went to ask the owner of the day care center some questions on Tuesday. Two women, who declined to speak on camera but identified themselves as staff members, said the owner was not around. 

However, they said they did not know what happened on Monday. ABC 57 News asked the women if they had filed a report with the Department of Child Services, one woman simply said ‘they did.’

“My son could’ve been hit by a car, somebody could’ve grabbed him,” said Yobbe. “Anything could’ve happened.”

According to the state Family and Social Services Administration, the day care center had an inspection on June 6. The center received two violations for the improper storage of the following items:

• Chemicals,
• Medications,
• Firearms,
• Ammunition,
• and other weapons.

“What would you say to the owner? They need to pay also, they need to pay,” Yobbe told ABC 57 News’ Kylie Walker. 

Yobbe said the woman, who is accused of opening the door Yobbe’s son left through, should be prosecuted. Staff members at the center told ABC 57 News the woman quit because of the incident. 

Yobbe said she pulled her son out of the day care center, because of the staff’s lack of supervision. 

“Nobody was watching my child,” said Yobbe. “There’s lack of supervision big time and I would be afraid of anybody going there.”

Yobbe said DCS will be checking on her son on Wednesday as they continue with their investigation. As for previous investigations into the center, DCS said they could not comment on those cases.