Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
A Texas mother says she's angry and wants answers after her daughter, who has special needs and is non-verbal, was unaccounted for for two extra hours on her way home from school this week.
Michelle Lemon's daughter, Bryne, is a ninth-grader at Hightower High School in Fort Bend County. Every day, the school bus picks her up around 6:30 a.m. and drops her off at 2:50 p.m. But on Thursday, Bryne didn't return home on time.
After 30 minutes, Lemon says she became worried and called the school district's transportation department to try to locate her daughter. She told KPRC that she couldn't get a straight answer on where Bryne might have been, and she felt like there was a lack of empathy from the representative she spoke with.
"When that lady said, 'Ma'am, describe your daughter,' my heart sunk. Um, what? I felt disappointed. I really felt like they didn't care about my child at all," said Lemon.
An hour after drop-off, Bryne still wasn't home, and the bus driver told Lemon that Bryne's name wasn't on the list and the attendant who usually helped him with the routes was off.
"One, she is riding on your bus every day to school and back, and today she is riding for a couple hours and you have no idea? My question is how long was my daughter on your bus before you realized you don't know who she was?" Lemon said.
Bryne finally returned home around 4:30 p.m. Lemon says Bryne is non-verbal, so it's hard to know how she felt about the incident.
"She didn't know if that could have been a sign of danger, if she was safe or not," she said.
In a statement to KPRC, the school district said that Bryne was never missing or left unsupervised. The district added Bryne did not have school identification on her and that the bus driver called to verify the student's information and address.
Several district officials reached out to Lemon on Friday. She says she just doesn't want what happened to her family to happen to another family.
“I just need to know moving forward that there is a procedure in place where the child is protected and looked after, but it would be nice to know that I can trust Fort Bend ISD with my daughter's safety,” Lemon told one school official on the phone.
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A Texas mother says she's angry and wants answers after her daughter, who has special needs and is non-verbal, was unaccounted for for two extra hours on her way home from school this week.
Michelle Lemon's daughter, Bryne, is a ninth-grader at Hightower High School in Fort Bend County. Every day, the school bus picks her up around 6:30 a.m. and drops her off at 2:50 p.m. But on Thursday, Bryne didn't return home on time.
After 30 minutes, Lemon says she became worried and called the school district's transportation department to try to locate her daughter. She told KPRC that she couldn't get a straight answer on where Bryne might have been, and she felt like there was a lack of empathy from the representative she spoke with.
"When that lady said, 'Ma'am, describe your daughter,' my heart sunk. Um, what? I felt disappointed. I really felt like they didn't care about my child at all," said Lemon.
An hour after drop-off, Bryne still wasn't home, and the bus driver told Lemon that Bryne's name wasn't on the list and the attendant who usually helped him with the routes was off.
"One, she is riding on your bus every day to school and back, and today she is riding for a couple hours and you have no idea? My question is how long was my daughter on your bus before you realized you don't know who she was?" Lemon said.
Bryne finally returned home around 4:30 p.m. Lemon says Bryne is non-verbal, so it's hard to know how she felt about the incident.
"She didn't know if that could have been a sign of danger, if she was safe or not," she said.
In a statement to KPRC, the school district said that Bryne was never missing or left unsupervised. The district added Bryne did not have school identification on her and that the bus driver called to verify the student's information and address.
Several district officials reached out to Lemon on Friday. She says she just doesn't want what happened to her family to happen to another family.
“I just need to know moving forward that there is a procedure in place where the child is protected and looked after, but it would be nice to know that I can trust Fort Bend ISD with my daughter's safety,” Lemon told one school official on the phone.
_______________
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Have a news tip? Send it directly to us:
Email us: local12@local12.com
Call the Newsroom: 513.421.6872
WKRC is an OH based station and a CBS Television affiliate owned and operated by Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. is one of the largest and most diversified television broadcasting companies in the country today.
#WKRC #LOCAL12 #cincinnati #news #cincinnatinews
This video and all Sinclair Broadcast Group content archives of local news and sports coverage are available for your use. For more information contact us at contentsales@sbgtv.com
