Special needs student walks off campus

Alexis Jimenez had quite the adventure to share with his parents when he got home from school Tuesday.

“Pen, water, and chips,” he said.

These are all the things he bought at a 99 cents store where he made his way to during school hours.

The Salinas Union High School District said as the special education classes were getting on the bus to head out to a planned field trip, Jimenez wandered off and left campus. He ended up at at the 99 Cents Only store on the corner of Laurel and Main more than a mile away.

Little did he know, his parents, his school, and seven Salinas police officers were frantically searching for him.

“I left work and started looking for him as well,” Pio Jimenez, the father, said.

Jimenez’s parents want to know how Alexis was able to leave campus on his own and why they didn’t get a call from the school until an hour after he was last seen.

“He’s my son. When you get that kind of news, it’s horrible,” Mother Concepcion Barrios said.

“In this case, the student is a student with disabilities and in a specialized program, so obvioulsy that heightened our senses,” Associate Superintendent Dan Burns said.

A family friend recognized him as he was trying to cross the street.

“I know God took care of my son,” Barrios said. “God used sister Dalila, and I am so thankful to her.”

The Salinas Union High School District said the school followed protocol, notifying school administration, the police, as well as the entire high school staff and student body.

“I think they did an admirable job of looking through and following their protocols,” Burns said.

But Jimenez’s parents aren’t satisfied. They want to know how he was able to even leave campus in the first place.

“I ask for there to be more security in the schools, so that nothing bad happens because we mothers want the best for our kids,” Barrios said.

The school district says Alexis Jimenez is one of 12 in his class, with four supervisors. On Wednesday, the district will meet with the Jimenez family to find out why this happened and how to move forward.