Kids Separated From Family, Teachers
The U.S. Park Police said that in all, about 30 children were separated from families or classmates, but that all were reunited without incident.
Nathan, a sixth-grader from Warren, Ohio, was one of those lost children.
As Obama’s speech ended, Capt. Mike Odle, one of six members of the Oregon National Guard who traveled to the District, felt a tug on his camouflage jacket.
Standing beside a row of port-o-potties near 7th Street on the Mall, Odle turned to find Nathan at his waist. Choking back tears, Nathan handed the soldier a note. "If lost, please return Nathan to RFK stadium," it read.
The note included the parking space where Nathan’s bus driver had parked the group’s charter, and it listed a cell phone number for Nathan’s teacher.
Odle and other members of the Oregon Guard carried Nathan to Medical Tent 11, a repository, it turned out, for family members who were separated from their loved ones during the crush to leave the Mall shortly after Obama spoke. Odle said there were about a dozen missing persons, mostly children in the tent at about 1:20 p.m.
-- Aaron C. Davis
By
Amy L. Kovac
|
January 20, 2009; 5:04 PM ET
| Category:
Crowds
,
Security
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Posted by: waterfrontproperty | January 20, 2009 6:09 PM | Report abuse
I can imagine being lost in that huge crowd would be very frightening for a child. Thank goodness that guardsman was nearby. Also, thank goodness all the misplaced children were reunited without incident.
Posted by: epjd | January 20, 2009 6:24 PM | Report abuse
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Nathan's teacher has a brain. Happy ending.