Lilleona Badtke

Lilleona Badtke is safe.

Let's just say she's no longer missing.

After an all-night search for the missing child, the 7-year-old showed up at school.

From FOX6 News:

Lilleona Badtke was located Tuesday morning, October 14th at Longfellow Elementary.

“That’s my Lillybean, I just grabbed her and hugged her,” said Lilleona’s stepmom, Tina Badtke.

She was reported missing around 3:15 p.m. on Monday, October 13th after parting ways with her sibling during her normal route home.

The Sheboygan Area School District’s superintendent, says the girl slept over at a friend’s house Monday night. The parents she stayed with were apparently unaware of the search.

“Don`t rely on a 7-year-old saying ‘yeah mom knows I’m here’, be a parent yourself and call the other parent,” said Rebecca Paez, a relative of the Badtke family.

The superintendent says there was no communication between the families about the sleepover. He wants to take this as an opportunity to teach students how to stay in contact with their parents, and how to better communicate their whereabouts.

“Talk to your student, your child. If the child is staying over, you that are accepting that child, make sure you talk to that parent. Don’t just assume that they know where their child is staying,” said Superintendent Joe Sheehan.

Oh, my God.

What a mess!

Authorities are using this story as a teachable moment.

Really? That's necessary?

Parents need instruction on keeping track of their young children?

Authorities need to educate children about communicating their whereabouts with their parents?

Authorities need to teach parents that they should communicate with the parents of their children's friends?

Unbelievable.

In the first place, a sleepover on a school night is odd. It's not a good idea, unless it's necessary due to some extenuating circumstances. Plus, according to the story, Lilleona "parted ways with her sibling" while walking home from school. Apparently, the child didn't have clothes for a sleepover or clothes to wear to school the next day.

Wouldn't that cause the friend's parents to question the situation?

When a child is missing, I would think one of the first things the parents would do would be to check with the child's friends. Obviously, the search did not include this friend. Don't Lilleona's parents know her friends?

Did Lilleona spend the night with a family her parents don't know at all?

Why would the parents of Lilleona's friend permit the child to spend the night, a school night, without talking with Lilleona's parents?

There was a lot of bad parenting here. The adults really blew it. Terribly irresponsible.