Mom Finds 2-Year-Old Daughter Locked Up Alone Inside Plantation Daycare

A South Florida mother is furious after she found her 2-year-old daughter locked inside a daycare center alone, according to WSVN.

Reporters shared the distressing 911 call Stephanie Martinez made to dispatchers after discovering her young child, Anna, was left inside the KinderCare Learning Center in Plantation on Wednesday (February 16).

"She’s inside the daycare, she just came up to the door," the frantic mom told the dispatcher, who asked if Anna was by herself. "Yeah, she’s crying. She’s inside by herself. She’s 2. She’s only 2." Martinez can also be heard trying to comfort her daughter during the call.

"I’m coming, baby, OK? I’m coming," she says.

The incident began when Martinez pulled up to KinderCare to pick up Anna, but there were allegedly no cars, and everything was shut down. She then called Anna's emergency contact about her whereabouts only to find out her daughter wasn't with her. That's when a scared Martinez started banging on the windows and called 911.

“Finally, I heard something. [Anna] managed to push a chair next to the door to stand on it and call for my name, and that was the only reason that I was able to see her, is because she’s shorter than the door. She got on the chair to say, ‘Mommy,’” Martinez told reporters. WSVN also shared a video from Martinez, which shows Anna looking through the locked window door.

Firefighters responded to KinderCare and pried open the doors, letting the toddler free. After reuniting with her daughter, Martinez is wondering how this could've happened. School officials told the angry mom that short staffing contributed to the issue, but Martinez wasn't having it.

"What if she fell off the table? What if, you know, she used a chair to get by the door. She's traumatized. Last night I couldn't turn off the light. She started crying," she told WESH.

KinderCare also released on the matter, part of it reading:

"We also placed the staff members involved on administrative leave while we, and our agency partners, look into the concern further. As these investigations take place, we’ll also take immediate steps to ensure this kind of thing doesn’t happen again."

The Broward Sheriff's Office and Plantation Police are investigating the incident.