A 3-year-old boy was left alone on a school bus for 2½ hours Thursday morning, according to the boy’s mother.

Alisha Chambers said she took her son to the bus stop at the Butler City Farmer’s Market on Shore Street at around 9:10 a.m.

According to Chambers, 25, of Butler her son got on the bus around 9:15 a.m. to head to Head Start, a preschool at 805 W. New Castle St.

Chambers said he would have arrived at Head Start at 9:25 a.m. at the latest.

“He was just left on the bus and the bus driver didn’t check the bus when he got off,” Chambers said.

Chambers received a call from Head Start at 10:58 a.m. alerting her that her son was missing.

Karen Wolosik, the boy’s grandmother, said police were notified and Head Start employees searched for the boy around the area of the preschool.

Shriver Bus Company was notified and the boy was found on the parked bus around noon.

“We could see he had been crying for a while,” Chambers said.

Chambers said they weren’t sure whether he was sleeping at the time he was left on the bus. Chambers also said she was told by the bus company that the bus driver was relieved of his duties. The company could not be reached for comment.

Steven Green, the CEO of Butler County Children’s Center, which runs Head Start, said he is seeking more information from the bus company.

“I’m just glad he’s OK,” Chambers said of her son. “He’s hungry. He wants to get something to eat.”