‘I am very sorry’ says grandfather who picked up wrong child from school

A grandfather has apologised after failing to realise the child he was collecting from school was not his grandson.

The incident occurred in South Carolina on May 19 when Joseph Fuller, 65, drove to Edisto Primary School to pick his grandson up.

According to an incident report from Orangeburg County Sheriff's Office, Fuller mistakenly approached a six-year-old boy, hugged him and told him he was there to pick him up early.

He asked the boy if he was ready to go and the child answered "yes."

A teacher's assistant says she asked the boy if Fuller was his granddad, to which the student again replied "yes." 

Fuller and the child then went to the front office and signed out, before heading back to Fuller’s car where his wife – without turning to look — handed the boy a Happy Meal. 

Fuller noticed the mix-up when they got back home. "He had a tooth missing in the front, and I know my grandson did not have a tooth missing in the front," he said. "Immediately, I brought him back to school, and I am very sorry." 

"She admitted that the [grandfather] resembles her father,” the sheriff’s report said, “and saw how her son also mistakenly thought he was indeed his grandfather."

"The students had similarities in haircut style and features, but not in weight or height."

The boy’s mother was said to have been “concerned”, but relieved the situation was quickly resolved. His father, Darrin Pressley, told local news broadcaster KPLVTC: "If they didn't bring him back my son could've been gone … My thing is, you know, have a prevention so this could never happen again."

The local school district is now reviewing its system for signing children out of school.