DOVER, Del.- Wendi Sue Powell was surprised Wednesday to get a phone call from a Dover police officer about her grandson, whom she just dropped off at daycare.
That's because Powell said the officer told her 22-month-old Malikai Mabrey had been found across the street at Booker T. Washington Elementary School, which is separated by four lanes of traffic from Cindy's Bright Stars Learning Center on Forest Street.
"They didn't know he was gone yesterday," she said.
The state's children and families department is now investigating Cindy's Bright Stars to determine how the child was left unsupervised, marking the latest incident for a daycare state officials said has been at the center of "substantiated complaints."
"The specialist made an unannounced visit yesterday to interview the owner and staff. They readily admitted that the child was able to leave the premises," said Joe Smack, a spokesman for The Delaware Department of Services for Children, Youth, and the Families.
Multiple attempts to call Cindy's Bright Stars for comment resulted in the person who picked up the phone hanging up. A woman who answered a reporter's knock on the door Thursday afternoon swiftly shut the door without saying anything.
Powell, who noted that Mabrey is a very active child who likes to run around and explore, was also concerned for the safety of Mabrey's 2-month old sister, who had been dropped off at the same daycare that morning.
"Thank God she can't walk. Was she being watched? Because they obviously were not watching him," she said.
Nevertheless, Powell wants to see Delaware consider closing or cracking down Cindy's Bright Stars, which receives funding from the state.
"It's child care! Where was the care at? I gave you him to watch him and what happened?" she said.
Cpl. Mark Hoffman, a Dover Police Department spokesman, said an officer responded to Booker T. Washington elementary school after a call came in about 11:44 a.m. Wednesday for a child being found on the premises by a teacher.
Hoffman said a daycare employee approached the group and an officer who visited the daycare spoke with employees while the owner was not present.
"They claim they were dealing with another child when the boy walked away," he said.
Because criminal charges are not being sought by Powell, Hoffman said police have concluded their investigation into the incident.
History of Complaints
Cindy's Bright Stars is a licensed child care center that has been on probation with the state since September 2018 and was previously investigated a number of times in recent years.
Smack said the daycare was the subject of three substantiated complaints in 2018, with five overall since 2015.
"Complaints ranged from improper diapering, unqualified staff supervising children, and the incident in June 2018 when a child was left alone in the center for an hour," he said.
Under the terms of the probation, Smack said the daycare would be subject to increased unannounced visits and would not be eligible to return to normal status until October 2019.
It is unclear if the ongoing investigation will affect the center's probation.
Firefighter Credited as Hero
Powell was thankful for the intervention of an off-duty volunteer firefighter with the Camden-Wyoming Volunteer Fire Company named Jonathan Sexton, 19, who said he blocked traffic with his truck on State Route 8 after realizing the child was walking the street away from the crosswalk.
"What if [Jonathan] hadn't stopped? What if Malikai had been taken? What if he had been hit," he said.
Nevertheless, Powell said she is stunned by what happened and hopes the state does something.
"The call from the police saying [Malikai] was OK, he saw him eating lunch...that was far from my mind. I was still in awe," she said. "Until I had him in my arms, I didn't believe he was OK."
