Las Vegas NowSpecial Needs Boy Goes Missing After School for 3 Hours

Special Needs Boy Goes Missing After School for 3 Hours

LAS VEGAS, Nv -- The school bell rang at Twin Lakes Elementary and Marque Taylor took off. Not only was he gone for three hours, he went on an alarming adventure.

The cheerful and curious 6-year-old boy also is a special needs child in speech therapy. "Marque does have some social disorders, so it's hard for him to function in a normal atmosphere," said his mom Marianne Littledike.

What happened Tuesday afternoon was anything but normal, according to Littledike.

Class let out and Marque was supposed to head to SafeKey, an after school program on the Twin Lakes campus that's not run by the school district. Instead, Marque went on a long and dangerous walk. "He stopped at Jack in the Box to get a drink," said Littledike.

Marque's sudden journey took him across busy roadways. Good Samaritans reportedly called police.

Just as Littledike came to pick up her son from the after school program, Metro found Marque at a beauty supply store near Decatur and Vegas -- more than a mile and a half away. "I would rather have a little accountability instead of, 'This isn't our responsibility. Once the bell rings, if he does or doesn't make it to SafeKey, it's not our fault,'" said Littledike.

Littledike is working with the Clark County School District on a resolution and young Marque has learned a lesson.

The district says schools typically don't walk kids to SafeKey because it's a program that's not affiliated with CCSD. The district says if this child has some issues, it will try to work something out.

Littledike likes the school, she likes Marque's teacher, and SafeKey is not at fault because he didn't even make it there. She just wants some safeguards in place to make sure that episode from Tuesday never happens again.