An autistic five-year-old non-verbal boy wandered out of Grout Elementary School in Portland through an open gate on 9 September and made his way into traffic on Holgate Boulevard. His mother, Erin McDonald-Wentzell, described watching surveillance footage of the incident as watching "a horror movie playing in slow motion" because she could see exactly what was happening but was powerless to stop it. The incident raises serious concerns about school safety procedures and supervision for vulnerable young children, particularly those with autism who may be unable to communicate danger or seek help verbally.

Police received multiple 911 calls at 9:42am reporting a child crossing the boulevard, and the incident was cleared at 9:47am after a caller reported the child was with a school principal. The mother claims her son was outside unsupervised for four minutes, followed by a five-minute gap in surveillance footage. Portland Public Schools attributed the incident partly to staffing challenges, but the mother disputed this explanation and has kept her son home pending answers. Notably, this was not the first escape—the boy had previously made it to the street on 3 September. In response, the school has implemented a new safety plan for the child and reinforced safety procedures with additional safeguards.