CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Mecklenburg County’s Parks and Recreation Department has made policy changes after a summer camp left a 6-year-old boy at Carowinds.
Jaiden Cuff was at the theme park with his summer camp Thursday when he realized he didn't see his group.
"I was thinking they might have left me or they went to another slide," the 6-year-old told Eyewitness News anchor Liz Foster.
Jaiden went to a lifeguard in the wave pool area and park staff called the summer camp number listed on the wristband Jaiden was wearing. The bus full of 43 kids and six adults was already driving back to Hickory Grove Recreation Center.
Then, Carowinds staff called Jaiden's parents.
"As any parent [would] do, freak out," Taurus Cuff described of the moment he learned about the incident. A camp staff member turned around to pick up his son, but Jaiden was apart from the group for about 45 minutes.
"It shouldn't happen period because parents pay good money and rely on these camps to trust their kids so they can work freely," Cuff said.
Jaiden's summer camp is one of more than 60 camps overseen by the Mecklenburg County Parks and Recreation Department.
"It could've been much worse. It was definitely a mistake on our part," Jim Garges, director of Parks and Recreation Department, told Channel 9 camp counselors miscounted the number of kids. He added since the scary ordeal, all camp leaders are now pairing kids in a 'buddy system' to prevent this from happening again.
"We've got to do everything we can think of to make sure we are safely taking care of every single child 100 percent of the time," Garges said.
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