Cops searching for 5-year-old missing from West Philadelphia school
The search is on for a 5-year-old girl who police say was abducted from a West Philadelphia elementary school Wednesday.
Cops searching for 5-year-old missing from West Philadelphia school
This post has been updated.
Cops have announced a $10,000 reward for information in the abduction of a 5-year-old girl. The search is on for Na'illa Robinson, who police say was abducted from a West Philadelphia elementary school Monday.
Na'illa was picked up by an unknown woman around 8:50 a.m. at Bryant Elementary School, 60th Street and Cedar Avenue, according to police and school district officials. It was not discovered that the wrong person had picked the girl up until around 3 p.m. when school let out, according to Fernando Gallard, spokesman for the district.
Na'illa, described as a 4-foot-tall African-American girl with curly hair and glasses, is seen on surveillance video from the school leaving with an unidentified woman who wore a black burqa, Lt. John Walker of the Southwest Detective Division said. The girl was wearing a light-blue shirt, navy-blue pants and black-and-bright-pink sneakers.
The woman identified herself to school employees as “Tiffany,” Walker said, but her signature in the school visitor log is illegible.
Police said it was discovered around 3 p.m. that the girl had been taken, when a caretaker from the child’s after-school program came to the school to pick her up, but she wasn’t there.
Gallard called the fact that the girl was allowed to leave school premises with an unknown adult a “serious break in procedure” and said district officials are working with police in the investigation. The woman, Gallard said, did not wait at the school’s front office for the child to be brought to her, as district protocol dictates. Instead, she somehow made it to the girl’s classroom, where she told a teacher that the child had already been “checked out” of school.
“That is completely against our protocol,” Gallard said. “An adult is not allowed to go to any classrooms to check children out. They’re supposed to go to the administrative office, their ID is supposed to be checked and they are supposed to be checked to see if they are the guardian of record or parent. If they are, then they call classroom for the child to be brought down, because we don’t want adults roaming the building.”
Walker said that in the surveillance video of the girl leaving school with the unknown woman, the girl does not appear to believe she is in any danger. The child, however, is often picked up by different people from an after-school program, according to police.
An Amber Alert was issued.
Morgan Zalot can be reached at zalotm@phillynews.com or 215-854-5928.
can we get a picture of the girl so we can ALL be on the lookout???— ceage2- She's found and safe:
"Police say 5-year-old Nailla Robinson has been found safe in Upper Darby.
She has been taken to Children's Hospital to be checked out.
Police say she was found by a passerby outside, but she appears to be safe."
Excellent news. Harsh justice for the scumbag that grabbed her and all will be right again.
— mephisto - Just this past friday this dude "Gallard" is standing tall with his chest out about the how they stop the girl from bringing in the gun down South Philly High and now this, not to mention it took until 830pm to get out an "Amber Alert" This dude has some nerve!!!! And like Ceage2 said get a photo out there!!!— faceoff
- Where is the picture and why the hell isn't this posted above everything else? Sick of seeing all the movie stars and singers, most of us don't revolve our lives around them.— Centrist
- the teacher in my house is stunned that so many district procedures were not followed... this isn't one error, it was a bunch. My theory is that nobody wanted to deal with, or argue with. someone in a burqa.— fire fighter
- My kids went here last year, I showed my I.D. once - after that no matter who sat at that little desk in the hallway sign in, they rarely checked my I.D. usually they were too busy chatting with another employee.
When in the office I could sign my kids out and meet them in the hallway or at their class.
My kids weren't in that school for a full year before I took them out to homeschool them all.
They weren't checking to see WHO was picking the child up on their records either - my husband went ONCE - said he was their father and they checked NOTHING, just said OK and called them down.
I pray this little girl is found and everything is a misunderstanding. Very sad we can't even send them to school these days.— Kryzcrewof4 - @faceoff - First, Gallard is his name; it doesn't require quotes. Second, he's the district spokesman. He wasn't at the school. He's relaying what happened and is trying to hold people accountable. Get a clue.
- this is the same school were the little boy walked out of, got on a bus, and went downtown. fortunately he ran into a relative who took him home where his family notified the school. they hadn't realized he'd left. if they closed this school, would anyone notice?— pointguard
- another boy was sexually assaulted by two students at this school. what's the dealio?— pointguard
- Cripe. I hope this was just a relative with a dispute over a child.— sighpatrol
- “That is completely against our protocol,” Gallard said. “An adult is not allowed to go to any classrooms to check children out. Say what? Sounds like we're checking books out, not our most precious possessions. And as I write this, there is no mention of a mother or father or any family member. I look at that little girls picture and hope this comes to a safe, secure, good ending. With mention of a responsible mommy and daddy by her side.— DelawareRiverRat
- Time to start revealing who is under the "Burqa" especially in schools, day cares, etc. Safety first regardless of who is hiding behind the "Burqa." Should be the same at businesses etc.— OTITOKORO
- Glad the picture finally got added. Now make this the front page feature instead of the "entertainment & lifestyle" bs. this is supposed to be a local news source, not a showbiz rag.— Mr Tips
- I just saw a story on the news and they're saying the woman who took the child is difficult to identify because she was essentially covered from head to toe.— Phillies2008WSChamps
There should be a few new people on the unemployment line tomorrow morning.— Tacony Palmyra
