It's 4 o'clock, do you know where your kids are?

As I was driving home from picking Emery up from school yesterday, I see a girl sitting on the curb in front of the apartment complex on my street. As I drive by and glance her way, I immediately feel like something was not right. I turned around and pulled into the lot next to her. I got out and asked her if she was okay. I also notice that she is a lot younger than I initially thought she was (she is 6). She was so visibly upset so I ask her name and her grade, she tells me that she was supposed to go to her dad's but got on the wrong bus, and was at the apartments where her and her mom live, but mom isn't home. She knows her phone number so she calls her, but she got no answer, so I left her mom a voicemail to tell her that I was in the parking lot with her daughter  and that I really need her to call me back right away. I put her in my car because it was so cold and I stood outside and came to the conclusion to call the police. I called the non-emergency line and they sent out 2 officers right away. They ended up taking her because no one knew  (she didn't know, neither did the school) her dad's number and her mom didn't answer when one of the officers tried calling her again. Emery and Eladie were so kind to her when she was our car; proud moment for me.
The craziest part of the story is that her mom didn't call me back for over an hour after her daughter had first called, and was just so nonchalant about some stranger being with her kid. I told her I called the police and they took her, so she should call them.

Moral of the story: always know where your kids are. They could be sitting on the curb in the cold all alone.