What should have been a routine after-school pickup in El Paso turned into a nightmare for one mother, who says her 6-year-old daughter was left alone on a daycare van for more than two hours before being discovered asleep and confused inside the vehicle.
The mother, Crystal Maldonado, says her daughter, Mia, was scheduled to be picked up at 3:15 p.m. from Harmony School of Excellence in the Lower Valley and taken to Friends Daycare on Alameda. Instead, Maldonado alleges, Mia never made it inside the center and remained in the van until staff finally found her later that evening. Maldonado says she has filed reports with Child Protective Services and the El Paso Police Department and has removed her children from the daycare while the case is being reviewed.
Mother's timeline and what she says happened
According to KFOX14/CBS4, Maldonado states that a family friend arrived at Friends Daycare around 5:30 p.m. to pick up Mia and was informed that the child had not arrived that afternoon. That set off a scramble behind the scenes.
Maldonado told the station that staff later walked out to the daycare van and discovered Mia still inside at about 6:30 p.m., roughly two hours after her scheduled 3:15 p.m. pickup. The child had apparently fallen asleep in the vehicle. "Mia was, like, half asleep, just like, not even knowing what's going on," Maldonado said in her interview with KFOX14/CBS4.
What investigators do
According to DFPS Child Care Investigations, the division looks into allegations of abuse, neglect, and exploitation at licensed child care operations and works alongside law enforcement and child care regulators. The agency says investigators generally aim to wrap up their work in about 30 days, although more complicated cases can take longer.
The process can include interviews with children and staff, a review of records, and other steps to determine whether abuse or neglect took place in connection with a reported incident.
Daycare's response and agency referrals
Friends Daycare has confirmed that an investigation is in progress but declined to comment publicly, and Texas Health and Human Services told local media it had referred questions to DFPS, according to KFOX14/CBS4.
Maldonado told the station she did not receive an incident report from the daycare and that she herself filed complaints with both DFPS and the El Paso Police Department. She says she has already withdrawn her children from the center while state and local investigations move forward.
Potential legal exposure
Under Texas law, leaving a child in a situation that could place them in imminent danger can lead to both criminal and administrative consequences. Texas Penal Code §22.041 makes abandoning or endangering a child a criminal offense, with penalties that vary depending on the specific facts of the case.
Any criminal charges would be separate from DFPS findings, but both a police investigation and a DFPS inquiry can stem from the same reported incident.
Maldonado says she is waiting for answers while DFPS and local law enforcement review what happened. Further details may emerge if state regulators or police release additional information.
