School admits to letting 14-year-old girl leave with unapproved family member

MOORESVILLE, N.C. — A local mother said her daughter went to a school event last week and didn't come home.

Latoya Wardlow told Channel 9 her 14-year-old daughter Yazmine is a cheerleader at Langtree Charter Academy in Mooresville.

She said Yazmine traveled with the school to an away game in Lincoln County last Thursday and never came back.

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"I was freaking out. I was calling around. I was like, 'Where could she be?'" Wardlow said. "She didn't come back with the car pool."

So, Wardlow called the school.

She said a resource officer admitted that a coach allowed Yazmine to leave with her paternal grandmother, who isn't authorized to pick her up.

"The grandmother hadn't called me to get permission to take my daughter," Wardlow said. "Coach Baker didn't call me to get permission to release my child."

A spokesperson for the school told Channel 9's Tina Terry that written directions from a custodial parent are required to release a child to another person.

"Our initial investigation appears that this did not happen correctly, so we are currently determining if this process was communicated to the staff properly," the spokesperson said.

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Wardlow said it took her three days to learn her daughter is now with her dad. She said Yazmine hasn't been to school in a week.

Now, she's working with police to get her daughter back.

"I don't want this to happen to another family. They need to take the right measures to ensure children are going with the right people," Wardlow said.

School officials said they plan to take appropriate action after the investigation wraps up.

Check back with wsoctv.com for updates.

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