MUSKEGON, Mich. – Muskegon Orchard View parent who sent his 13-year-old son on a school field trip to Michigan's Adventure now regrets it.
Andy Nickelson said he answered the most frustrating and frightening call from his son Ethan Pugh's school -- Orchard View Middle School -- Tuesday telling him they had returned from a field trip and noticed his son wasn't on the bus. Then, he said, teachers told Nickelson he had to go get his son.
"Especially when we didn't find him right away, I was really upset," said Nickelson.
According to the school district the father did sign a permission slip that stated if students did not meet at the bus at 1:30 p.m. the parent would be responsible for picking the child up from the park.
Recommended Videos
According to the school superintendent, Ethan did not make his way to the designated meeting spot at 1:30 p.m. The bus waited an additional 10 minutes to see if he would show up - and a teacher went back into the park to look for him. School officials say the bus did leave, but the teacher stayed behind and searched for Ethan for 45 minutes. She called Ethan's dad while she stayed behind searching for the teenager.
Ethan said that the field trip to Michigan's Adventure in Muskegon started out as fun, but then turned into a nightmare. Ethan said one minute he was playing, and the next minute he was alone. The bus had left without him. "I had a feeling it was past time and stuff," he said. "I went up and asked what time it was, and they said 2:30 and I said, 'Uh oh, I missed my bus.'" Nickelson said he was "upset and scared."
The school district says all of the school's policies were followed and did apologize for any misunderstandings. A meeting is scheduled for Thursday to review those policies.
"I'm kind of scared to go back to school because I don't know if the teachers are going to keep on watching me and stuff," said Ethan.
Ethan is supposed to report to the principal's office Wednesday.