A 15-year-old Jefferson City middle school student who walked away from his school group while on a St. Louis field trip tried to walk away again from a school setting on Thursday.
The boy tried to leave the Prenger Family Center, where he is a resident, while in a non-secured area where classes were taking place.
"We have students who come in from the community to join our resident students, and that's where this occurred," Prenger Director Michael Couty said. "This is not an uncommon occurrence. And when it has happened in the past, we do reviews to see if we need to take extra steps to avoid these from occurring."
Couty credited the quick work of the Jefferson City Police Department to find the boy within a few minutes of his departure.
"We had the matter wrapped up within 15-20 minutes," he said.
After the incident in St. Louis, the Jefferson City Public Schools said the boy faced suspension from school. Couty said while the boy is facing disciplinary actions in this matter, the district is not involved in what those actions will entail.
"We'll review his history and see if whether or not he needs to be in a new venue," he said.
"He hadn't been identified as having a history of these types of problems, but he is quickly creating one," Couty added.
Last week, school officials said in their interview with students on the field trip, the boy said he didn't want to go back to Prenger so he took the opportunity to run away.
Couty said the boy was in protective custody, as is any child who comes to them.
"They are wards of the court, placed with us because they have behavioral issues in their home, so we work with them so they can return back to community, either to their parents or to a guardian that the state appoints," he said.