Two girls, 5, disappear from school

TULSA - Tulsa Public Schools officials say two 5-year-old girls were missing from their elementary school campus for around three hours on Thursday.

Director of Public Information Chris Payne said the two kindergartners were on the Skelly Elementary School playground when they saw a nearby McDonald's sign and decided to have lunch at the restaurant.  The girls left the playground around 11:30 a.m.

Payne said the teacher did not notice the girls were missing when the class went back into the building after recess.

"Teachers are supposed to count the kids coming in, so this should never have happened," Payne said.

The teacher did not realize the girls were missing until one of their mothers arrived at 2:00 p.m. to pick up her daughter, Payne said.

The girls were found around the same time near a drainage ditch by employees at Jim Glover Chevrolet.  The employees called police around 2:20 to say they had found the girls.  Neither child was hurt during the incident.

Payne said the principal feels “they have the right procedures in place, they just were not followed by the teacher."

The teacher has been put on paid suspension pending investigation by Tulsa Public Schools, he said.