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WILKES-BARRE &#8212; The concern was palpable Monday evening, well before the announcement that a 5-year-old student was missing.Wilkes-Barre Area Superintendent Bernard Prevuznak left the school board meeting abruptly only about 30 minutes after it started, clutching his phone. After several such quiet departures, he announced a kindergarten student was missing. By the end of the evening, the boy had been found safe.What happened?Initially, Prevuznak said, it appeared the boy had not boarded the bus at Dodson Elementary School, but had found his way home on his own.But Tuesday afternoon, Transportation Director Thomas Wall said a review found the young man had been on the bus and was dropped off at the appropriate stop, where a sister usually picked him up.&#8220;The student did get off the bus,&#8221; Wall said. &#8220;An older sibling was to meet him at the bus stop.&#8221; But something happened between leaving the bus and getting home. The district learned the boy had not made it home when the family reported him missing at about 6:40 p.m.&#8220;Everyone in the district and also at the bus terminal came together&#8221; to look for the boy, Wall said. They reviewed security camera footage, verified the student had boarded the bus and had gotten off at the designated bus stop, and began searching the bus and the school.&#8220;Initially, the bus the student had been on was checked, then all the buses in the yard were,&#8221; Wall said. &#8220;Volunteers from the bus company that live close by went through each bus with flashlights.&#8221;District employees and administrators also checked all the rooms in the school &#8220;on the theory that something could have happened in school that made him want to stay there,&#8221; he said.Wall said it is primarily the responsibility of the building principal and teachers to make sure all students get on the right bus, though drivers develop a familiarity and rapport with the students, and after a few weeks recognize the regulars and may even question those they don&#8217;t recognize to make sure they aren&#8217;t on the wrong bus.The school also notifies the bus company if a student leaves school early &#8212; due to illness, say &#8212; and will not be on the bus home, Wall said.All buses also have an alarm that goes off if drivers do not walk to the back at the end of a run to prevent it from going off, Wall said. The goal is to make sure they check all the seats visibly to ensure no child stayed on the bus or fell asleep and missed a stop.Wall said the response to the report of a missing student was heartening.&#8220;As a parent I know how I would feel. I would hope everybody would do everything they possibly could,&#8221; he said. &#8220;It was very fulfilling to see how everybody came together.&#8221;<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Mark Guydishmguydish@www.timesleader.com</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach Mark Guydish at 570-991-6112 or on Twitter @TLMarkGuydish</shirttailMeta></div>

W-B Area kindergarten student had walked to friends house, sparking expansive search Monday