Keith Paquette, Dad, Breaks Window To Fetch Daughter Locked In Day Care

WESTPORT, Mass. -- A Massachusetts dad says he smashed the window of a day care center to fetch his 3-year-old daughter, who'd been locked inside after staffers left for the day.

Keith Paquette says when he arrived at Westport Country Day School just after 5 p.m. Monday to pick up daughter Samantha Jo, the building was locked and no one was there.

He called his wife, and she called a teacher, who returned to the school.

They heard crying from inside, so Paquette broke a window to get to his daughter.

School officials told police they did a sweep of the building before leaving, and that Samantha Jo had been checked off on a list indicating she'd been picked up.

Police and state child welfare officials are investigating, and the Paquettes say they've found a new preschool.

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Comments

[Lacy Wilmerton]

12:14 PM on 05/09/2012

When my son was in daycare, I called to let them know I would be arriving late to pick him up (his pickup time was between 4p and 5p, and the daycare was open from 6a-6p) and was told that, "this is not a place for him to be all day, this is not a place for you to leave him because you don't want to watch him, you picked him up late yesterday, you were here at 545p yesterday, you always leave him here all day." The daycare had a sign in and out sheet, which I checked, I had picked my son up at 430p the day before. I straight got lectured for another mom's mistake because my son was one of 2 "bad kids." He has severe ADHD and was unmedicated at the time, so he was all over the place all the time. I cried, and then my mom and my son's father both spoke with the daycare for me. They gave me a formal apology, but it does go to show you how much they really pay attention. My son is no longer in daycare and I hope I never have to put him back in.

[Mr Anonymous]

11:19 PM on 05/07/2012

Looks like they'll have some new positions to fill at that preschool. Something similar happened to my child. The preschool she was at lost her for 2 hours before they finally found her. They made a clean sweep of the place, fired all four people that were there that day, and replaced them with a better crew.

[halli620]

11:48 AM on 05/07/2012

I don't get it, the teacher returned to the school already? Did she not have a key? Or did he break the window as she was on her way back and wasn't there yet?

[Nicole DaSilva]

03:05 PM on 05/05/2012

I don't have time to go through all the comments to see if it was mentioned but... the school needs to be held responsible. As stated above, the school marked her off as already picked up. Obviously she wasn't

[RJ Goldsmith]

04:55 AM on 05/05/2012

Seems kicking in a door would have been more feasible since A. You wouldnt have to worry about glass and B. It would look a lot cooler on youtube.

[Nicole DaSilva]

03:00 PM on 05/05/2012

I don't know what the doors are like there, but here there is no way you could kick down the door

[wsdave]

07:27 PM on 05/04/2012

This is news?

Honestly, would ANYONE reading this NOT do the same thing to get their child?

[pennywhite]

01:09 PM on 05/04/2012

This is what happens when you have under-trained under-payed under-staffed facilities entrusted with the care of vulnerable preschool aged children. Anyone out there interested in federally funded preschools with well paid and well trained teachers? Oh, that's right. We can't afford it. We need that money to give the oil companies billion dollar subsidies. And we can't ask corporations to pay higher taxes (or ANY taxes), because then they'll stop providing us with all these great jobs they've been creating. And to return the tax rate on the wealthy to what it was in the 60's is just unspeakable. They need every penny of that money so that they can provide high quality child care for their own children. This is just another symptom of the fact that neither we nor are children matter to the 1% or to the politicians they own.

[Stacy M]

11:19 AM on 05/05/2012

But don't you know, taking care of kids these days is "Socialism"!
To quote Michelle Bachman "Kids need jobs".
And if their parents aren't rich and can't pay for good quality childcare, that's just fine!
Those stupid kids need to pay!!! for choosing such poor people as their parents.

[CharityHand]

09:39 AM on 05/04/2012

He must have been really, really late for pick up.

[pennywhite]

01:00 PM on 05/04/2012

The article said it was just after five when he got there. Also, at most daycares they charge you a dollar a minute fee for late pick-ups - they don't lock your child in overnight.

[Fran Jaime]

08:01 PM on 05/07/2012

Even if he was really, really, REALLY late, which he wasn't there is no excuse for leaving a child locked up in an empty daycare!

[CharityHand]

10:40 AM on 05/08/2012

I never said this was an excuse, but when I read "just after five" in article I'm not getting an exact time. Just after five could be anywhere between 5:01 to 5:15, or 5:20-ish even, depending on the writer's opinion or need to exaggerate.The fact that it doesn't give a solid time -- and the fact that he pulled up to a deserted school to pick up -- makes me think he was towards the later end of this time frame. Again, still not saying this is an excuse for his child to be locked up in the school.

[Heather39]

09:36 AM on 05/04/2012

This stuff happens more than you think. When my daughter was in kindergarten she fell asleep on the bus. The bus driver could not see her because she was small, so she assumed my daughter had not taken the bus home that day. When the bus returned to the garage the driver went up and down the aisle looking for items that may have been left behind, it was then that she saw my little girl sleepng. If she decided to check the bus in the morning my daughter would have never been found. (she was the last child to get off the bus)

[CharliDenae]

08:38 PM on 05/04/2012

I've heard of this happening many times, a few just where I live. Thank God most bus companies/schools require their drivers to check the bus when they get back to the yard. I'm thinking they require this because of so many kids getting left in overnight. I cannot imagine how scary that would be for a little kid.

[Aimee Lauder]

09:02 AM on 05/04/2012

Hmmm...I don't know. I normally roll my eyes when people want to sue over everything, but in this case I can't help but think it's called for because I can't get the picture of how scared that poor little girl must have been. When I picture that being my son, it makes me so sick to my stomach.

[ILoveGreatDanes]

06:31 AM on 05/04/2012

She might have been napping in another room and the teachers didn't hear hear so they forgot about her and locked up, leaving her inside. I live in Houston, TX, and every year, several children die from heatstroke after being left strapped in their child safety seats in sizzling hot cars. The parents take are in a rush to get to work, the child falls asleep, and since they're strapped in the backseat, the parent doesn't see them, and the parent, in their rush, just forgets about them. The cars can reach 140 degrees in just 10 minutes.

[Lacy Wilmerton]

12:09 PM on 05/09/2012

It said they had her checked off as picked up, so this is a MASSIVE clerical error on the daycare's part. Also, how can a parent forget their kid in a car??? I forget my soda on top of the car, I forget to bring food with me, I forget appointments...But I have NEVER forgotten my son. Because his importance in my life is so extreme, all this shows is that parents don't care about their kids as much as they care about their jobs. I would rather lose my job than rush to it and forget my child. That's just massive irresponsibility and neglect.

[jonril1]

05:18 AM on 05/04/2012

wow the dad is a real hero, he may have saved his daughters life.

[Fran Jaime]

08:03 PM on 05/07/2012

At the very least, he saved her from further trauma.

[hsiashang]

03:31 AM on 05/04/2012

Terrified little kid! Really negligent of the school. Why couldn't they send somebody with a key. They goofed up all the way.

[loveis22984]

02:32 AM on 05/04/2012

They day care provider is lucky. No where in this story did I read where the father or the mother punched the day care provider in the nose. I think this is about as happy an ending we can hope for.

[anitafeeney]

03:30 AM on 05/04/2012

i didnt hear anything on the news here ( i live in rhode island ) about a teacher bieng punched and at first according to the news here the dad called the grandmother going haha good joke i told you i was picking her up thinking the grandmother had picked the kid up the gramma said no i knew you were picking her up i dont have her then the father called the mother and at that point they started to worry the mom called a teacher who came right over saying another teacher was bringing keys at that point the kid was crying so the father according to the news took a bycicle and smashed the glass on the front door in to get the door unlocked and to get at the kid

[Fran Jaime]

08:04 PM on 05/07/2012

Anita, I like your comments but a few commas and periods would have been nice. :)

[anitafeeney]

03:31 AM on 05/04/2012

of course this is just what i heard on the local news

[Ray Paris]

02:07 AM on 05/04/2012

This makes me so mad!!! This guy should definitely sue and ensure those people never get back in business ever again nor get anywhere close to any child!

[didy8369]

02:11 AM on 05/04/2012

Wow, that's rather radical don't you think? Why are so many people sue happy in this country? A mistake was made, I agree. That being said... isn't it possible a parent signed on the wrong line or someone made an error. This shouldn't mean the parents should sue everyone. I believe it means the daycare needs to be checked out, find out the whole story and implement changes in their procedure so this does not happen again.

[Ray Paris]

02:22 AM on 05/04/2012

Ahhh OK, then after that they should all hold hands and sing the kumbayah

[loveis22984]

02:29 AM on 05/04/2012

If they are sued they will be more careful next time.

[mommy dearest]

03:28 AM on 05/04/2012

You would think the state would revoke their license or at the least levi a large fine.

[max bmw]

07:44 AM on 05/04/2012

"levi a large fine", payable in denim?