Mother irate after stranger picks up first-grade son from Rowan County school

ROWAN COUNTY, N.C -- A Rowan County mother is trying to figure out how a man she doesn't know was able to pick up her 7-year-old son from school.

The mother, who asked not to be identified, said a stranger picked her son up from Woodleaf Elementary SchoolTuesday during dismissal at 3:30 p.m.

According to WSOC, The Rowan County Sheriff's Office believes the incident may have been a misunderstanding and said the man was supposed to pick up another child from the school as a favor for a friend.

"You're supposed to show identification," she said of the school's student pick-up policy.

She said the man went into the front office to check in before leaving Woodleaf Elementary School with her son.

"They didn't even question my child, 'Do you know this man or not?'" she said.

Deputies said the man returned with the child once he realized what happened. The child was not hurt.

A spokesperson with Rowan-Salisbury Schools sent the following statement in response to the reported incident:

"It is extremely concerning any time a report of this nature is received. We have safety and security procedures in place to follow when releasing students at the end of the school day. We also have processes in place to conduct thorough internal investigations of these procedures and incidents to ensure the safety of our children."

"I need better answers than that," the child's mother said. "I put my trust into the school and they failed me."