SC daycare closing after toddler wandered off

LADSON, S.C. (AP) — A daycare center near Charleston has informed parents it is closing, days after a 2-year-old wandered from the facility and into a road.

The Post and Courier of Charleston reports that officials with Noah’s Ark Child Development Center in Ladson sent a letter to parents Tuesday announcing it will close July 31. The letter says the economic downturn made the closure necessary.

The state Department of Social Services was investigating the daycare.

Jeannatte Jacobs says she was driving nearby about 9:30 a.m. last Wednesday when she spotted the girl running in the opposite lane. She says she stopped and waved down a utility truck heading toward the toddler.

Mother Stacey Paul says her daughter will never return to the daycare.

Noah’s Ark representatives have declined to comment.

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Information from: The Post and Courier, http://www.postandcourier.com