'I knew something was wrong': MCTS bus driver helps lost toddler at bus stop

 

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- The Milwaukee County Transit System is thanking one of their bus drivers after he helped a lost child.

When pulling up to one of his usual stops near 76th Street and Sheridan Avenue, bus driver Elex McGlaston knew something wasn't right.

"I saw my regular passenger holding a little boy's hand with a Pamper on, and I'm like, I know he doesn't have a kid," McGlaston said. "I knew something was wrong."

The passenger told McGlaston he saw the little boy trying to cross the street alone, so he grabbed him.

"My first thing was to call the station dispatch. I had them call police and say we got a missing kid," McGlaston explained.

He put the child on the bus, where passengers comforted him.

Police came quickly and checked nearby apartments, and McGlaston checked a day care.

After more than 20 minutes of searching, came a sigh of relief.

"His dad comes running out the house, and his dad was all hysterical, saying that's his baby," McGlaston remembers.

The boy went home safe, and McGlaston finished his route.

Anna Schryver, marketing manager with MCTS, says this has happened before.

"This is the 15th time in recent history that we've been able to rescue a child, and we've only been keeping track recently," she explained.

She says drivers don't always report when these things happen, because they're just used to helping out.

"These bus drivers are the eyes and ears of the community," Schryver said.

McGlaston has been an MCTS bus driver for 14 years.

He tells us helping people is his favorite part of the job.

"Just another day at MCTS, that's all it is," he said.