Toddler found walking along highway after wandering away from daycare, mother says

CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. — A Clayton County mother told Channel 2 Action News she is furious after her nearly 2-year-old son wandered away from Pure Loving Learning Center, which is run out of Christian Outreach Evangelistic Church in Riverdale.

Melanie Rogers is the person state records show runs the daycare, is pictured in a church sign alongside her husband, who is the pastor of the church.

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The child's mother said daycare workers never called her or police when a man allegedly found the toddler walking along Highway 85 mid-morning.

Instead, she said, Rogers didn't tell her what happened until she arrived at the daycare around 5:30 p.m. Tuesday to pick up all three of her sons.

Channel 2 Action News did some digging and learned the licensed daycare is required to report what happened to the boy's parents and to police immediately and to state officials within 24 hours of the incident, but the daycare did not follow protocol.

Sources told Channel 2 Action News the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning launched an investigation after the mother filed a complaint.

Channel 2's Nefertiti Jáquez went to the daycare to get the staff members' side, but staff members told her they could not discuss the matter. The pastor, Dr. D.L. Rogers, asked Jáquez to leave.

State officials said the daycare, which opened in 2002, could face fines and lose their license depending on the investigation.

Cox Media Group