Father of D11 student who went missing voices frustrations over school’s response
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - The father of an 11-year-old who left the school grounds of Grant Elementary, undetected for hours, is speaking out.
Trevor Fancher who is a 5th grader at the D11 school walked out of a side door on Monday. After a nearly seven-hour search for Trevor, he was found safe nearly four miles away from the school.
Now, his father tells KRDO13 he is pulling Trevor and his daughter out of Grant Elementary for good.
Just after 6:30 on Monday night, the Colorado Springs Police Department released photos of Trevor. They asked for the public's help in finding the "at-risk juvenile."
Police said Trevor was last seen around 12:35 p.m. However, his father, Anthony Fancher, says he wasn't notified by the school until just after 2 p.m.
After Anthony showed up to the school, D11 then called police at 2:19 p.m.
Anthony says the lapse in time between his son going missing, him being alerted, police showing up, and Trevor being found worries him.
"I'm just really scared for all the other kids that go to the school because that should not take anybody that long to notice a missing child. I wish they had better security. I wish the principal took his job more serious," Anthony Fancher said.
KRDO13 did reach out to D11 regarding Trevor's disappearance. They provided us the following statement:
"The safety of our students is always our top priority. Yesterday afternoon, a student at Grant Elementary left the school without authorization. After a thorough search led by our dedicated school and district teams, he was found safe and reunited with his family later that evening.
We know how distressing this was for the family and the entire school community. Our team remained relentless throughout the search, coordinating closely with CSPD and using every resource available to bring the child home safely. We deeply empathize with the family’s concerns and share in their relief that the student is now safe.
As part of our commitment to student safety, we are reviewing all aspects of the incident. Thank you to our community for being vigilant partners and helping ensure that our youth remain safe and secure. We will continue to take every step necessary to prevent situations like this in the future."
Jessica Wise, PhD
D11 Executive Director of Engagement
We followed up with questions regarding D11's policy or code of conduct for when a student goes missing, what the district has to say to the frustrations from parents about not being contacted sooner, as well as what exact time Grant Elementary noticed Trevor was missing rather than last being seen, the district declined to comment saying they are in the midst of an internal review.
We also asked what kind of "review" is being done after this incident, again they declined to comment.
In the meantime, Anthony says he's pulling his kids out of the school, effective immediately.
