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- Police were dispatched Oct. 11 to Oakridge Baptist Church on W Oakridge Drive.
- A mother reported her three children, ages 12, 11, and 9, plus a 10-year-old friend, were removed from the church bus.
- They were allegedly dropped off at the busy intersection of Westover Boulevard and Gillionville Road.
- The mother saw the bus, tried signaling it, and was later told a stranger returned the children home.
- The driver admitted he should have waited, said he contacted the children’s grandmother, and was arrested, charged with reckless conduct.
Erin Menefee, who serves as a church deacon in Albany and teaches in Mitchell County, is currently facing legal charges. This follows an incident where he allegedly removed a group of young children from his bus and left them abandoned on the side of the road.
The Albany Police Department’s incident report states that officers were dispatched on October 11 to Oakridge Baptist Church, located on W Oakridge Drive.
Upon arrival, they spoke with a woman who claimed that her three children, aged 12, 11, and 9, along with their 10-year-old friend, whom they had brought to church, were removed from the church bus.
She said that her mother called her and explained that Menefee had told her he took the kids off the bus because they were cursing and hitting each other. The incident report indicates that Menefee is employed as a teacher at Mitchell County High School.
The mother reported that she was informed Menefee had dropped the children off at the busy intersection of Westover Boulevard and Gillionville Road. Residing on Colquitt Avenue, she mentioned that it was too far for the children to walk back home. She stated that she got into her car to search for her kids but was unable to locate them.
However, she did see the church bus on the road and attempted to signal it to stop.
Police reported that the mother spoke with Menefee, who claimed he had left the children farther down the road. Following this, the mother went to the church to talk to the pastor and received a call from someone informing her that a stranger had returned the kids to their home.
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Officers engaged with Menefee regarding the allegations. He allegedly informed them that he had around 20 children on the bus, and this specific group was causing a disturbance, prompting him to remove them for his own safety.
When asked by the police how he expected the children to return home, he stated that he had contacted their grandmother. Authorities noted that Menefee admitted he should have waited for someone to pick them up.
Subsequently, officers took Menefee into custody. He faces several charges of reckless conduct.
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