A Chicago family is demanding answers after their baby girl was left behind in a locked day care center Monday night, Fox 32 Chicago reports.
The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services is investigating the incident that unfolded at All Things Are Possible for Kids day care center when Cornelius Jones realized that his 1-year-old daughter, Journee, was locked in the dark building by herself.
According to the report, Jones arrived at the center 15 minutes before closing time to pick up his daughter but saw that no one was there.
"I was terrified," the dad told the news station. "I was also hurt because I knew she was in there in the dark and I couldn't get to her."
The frantic father called 911, and the Fire Department had to force the door open to get to the crying child. Cellphone footage shows the rescue. As firefighters pried the door open, baby Journee could be heard crying.
"I was wondering, where is she, where is she? I hear her, but I couldn't see her. And one of the police officers flashed a light to the left and flashed it back to the right, and that's when I saw her crawling towards us screaming, and my heart just dropped," Jones said.
The director of the day care apologized to the family and reportedly told Journee's mom that the child had been mistaken for a doll.
"She told me that they thought Journee was a doll, but she's not that little to be a doll, so it's some excuses," Journee's mother, Quanesha Borum, told the station.
Workers reportedly told Jones they were still in the back of the day care when he arrived, but the dad isn't happy.
"If anything, it should be shut down," he told the station. "I mean, nobody leaves kids behind, toddlers. I don't care how old they are. That's dangerous.
"I knocked on the door, rang the bell, called and emailed the day care but got no responses," he added.
Read more at Fox 32 Chicago.