School bus drops girl, 5, at wrong stop

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - A 5-year-old girl is back safely with her parents after being dropped off by a school bus at an apartment complex where she didn't live from a school bus she never takes.

Kiara Middling is a kindergartner at Aberdeen Elementary. She never takes the bus, but ended up walking around Orchard Apartments on Dawson for two hours. That's about a four-minute drive from her home two miles away.

Her mother, Rasheeda Middling, usually picks her up from school. "I stand in the same spot every day and wait for her to come out and she always finds me 'momma!' and runs to me or runs to her father" David, she told 24 Hour News 8.

But Kiara had gotten onto a Grand Rapids school bus that dropped her off at the Orchard Place apartment complex, where she was left unattended for over an hour. She was missing for more than two hours before administrators were able to track her down.

"I don't understand how they can just lose track of a kid like that," said her father, David Middling. "I felt like I was going to throw up. I was literally sick, sweaty, bawling. I mean,. that's my baby girl, I don't know how else to express it. I never felt that way in my life and I never want to feel that way again."

There was a substitute teacher at Aberdeen on Friday.

The girl was eventually picked up by a driver from Dean Transportation at an apartment complex near Boston Street. She was then reunited with her mom and dad.

In a statement, GRPS spokesman John Helmholdt said, "We are conducting an investigation and gathering information to find out exactly what happened and where any breakdowns may have occured. What is most important is that the student is safe and home with her parents. We certainly understand and appreciate the concerns of the parents. This is a serious issue, we are going to get to the bottom of it, and there will be consequences based on the findings of the investigation."

They believe somebody might have let her in their home, but still are left wondering what happened when she was dropped off, and how a close call could possibly happen.

Kiara's parents said she can't talk about the incident without crying.

"We don't even know whose house she was at they haven't even given us that yet," Rasheeda said. "All we got was an 'oh we're sorry' and that was it."

She added, "She's everything to me. All my kids are everything to me."

Grand Rapids Police were called, and an Amber Alert was almost issued. GRPD officials had no comment.