Two seven-year-old girls have been returned safely after going missing from the Woodside Elementary School in Topsham.
Topsham Police Chief Marc Hagan said the girls left school grounds at recess and hid in the woods surrounding the school after seeing law enforcement arrive.
"They left the school grounds, started seeing police cars coming by, realized, 'we might be in a little trouble here,' and started hiding," Hagan told reporters shortly after 2 p.m. "It's a three-hour event, but after probably the first half-hour, it's been the last two-and-a-half-hours of them basically hiding from us. They're scared. They're seven years-old They're not sure what to do."
Hagan said girls apparently told another student the day before that they planned to leave school in the middle of the day to go to a store. Hagan said he didn't believe the girls ever made it to the store.
A neighbor eventually spotted them hiding in the woods.
No one needed medical attention, and both girls have been released back to their parents.
Woodside Elementary planned to dismiss students at 3:15 p.m. per usual, and MSAD 75 Superintendent Heidi O'Leary said the district would learn more about how the girls were able to slip away from school supervision.
"We'll debrief with our staff that is currently in the building and those that were involved in the incident," she said.
Sagadahoc County Emergency Management Agency announced their discovery and safe return in a Facebook post at 1:47 p.m., about three hours after they initially went missing.
