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The 11-year-old boy who went missing after getting suspended from Jimmy Carter Middle School has been found safe, his father said.
The boy’s father, Jeremiah Baca, told the Journal that his son was with his grandparents in Socorro.
His son, Jeremiah Jojola-Baca, was suspended for allegedly smoking marijuana on campus with five other students.
Two administrators have been put on leave while Albuquerque Public School officials investigate whether they properly notified the students’ parents of the suspensions.
Officials with the Children, Youth and Families Department now have custody the middle school student, his father said. Baca said he was on his way to meet with CYFD Wednesday afternoon.
Baca said he learned of his son’s whereabouts Wednesday morning and it’s a “mystery” how he got to Socorro.
“My main concern was getting him safe,” he said. “I want him to know and understand this isn’t the answer. This isn’t what we want. We don’t love him any less.”
An 11-year-old boy was missing and two Jimmy Carter Middle School administrators were on leave Tuesday while the school district investigates whether the boy’s parents were notified of his suspension Monday.
The 11-year-old boy and five other sixth-graders had been suspended for allegedly smoking marijuana on campus.
The boy’s father, Jeremiah Baca, said the school never notified him, and he has not had any contact with the boy since Monday morning before school.
However, several of the boy’s friends told police he briefly stopped by the school at lunchtime Tuesday, Baca said. Police also said the boy was seen in the neighborhood around the middle school throughout the day Tuesday wearing a dark blue shirt and tan pants.
Jimmy Carter Middle School principal Rick Braden and dean of students Garrett Acoya are both on paid administrative leave while APS investigates how the suspensions were handled. At issue is whether parents were notified appropriately after the six students were suspended, said APS spokeswoman Monica Armenta.
APS policy requires administrators to make contact with parents, or verify that students have contacted their parents. It is unclear what happened at the school on Monday, Armenta said.
“The administrators are expected to confirm that the parents, in fact, have been informed,” Armenta said.
Jeremiah Jojola-Baca, 11, is missing after he was suspended from Jimmy Carter Middle School on Monday.
Jacqueline Costales, who works in APS central administration, will be interim principal of Jimmy Carter for now.
Baca said he believes his son, Jeremiah Jojola-Baca, may be afraid to face him after the suspension and some disappointing grades. Baca said he first learned Jojola-Baca was missing at about 5:30 p.m. Monday.
His wife went to the middle school to pick Jojola-Baca up from an after-school program, but he wasn’t there. When Baca got home later, he found his son’s progress report on his doorstep with a note that said, “I’m sorry.”
“It seems like he’s scared. I mean, at this point he’s in pretty big trouble,” Baca said. “I can understand that, but at the same time, I don’t want him out on the streets about it.”
Baca said he reported to police Monday evening that his son was missing. Baca said his son made contact with the family babysitter on Monday afternoon, and told her he was afraid to face his father. But when the babysitter tried to meet up with Jojola-Baca and bring him home, he was gone.
Baca said he is frustrated that his son’s school didn’t notify him about the suspension, but is pleased that APS is taking the situation seriously. He said he is patrolling his neighborhood and will continue to do so.
“This could have all been taken care of if they would have handled it the right way,” he said. “So now I’m stuck searching. I’m going to continue searching.”
Journal Staff Writer Patrick Lohmann contributed to this report.
— This article appeared on page A1 of the Albuquerque Journal
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