An east Ottawa daycare operator is investigating after five children wandered away Tuesday.

The children, ages four and five, went into a forest near École élémentaire catholique Reine-des-Bois on Tuesday afternoon while attending La Coccinelle daycare, according to its program manager, Francine Beaudoin.

Beaudoin said they ended up back at the school after an unknown time away and were unharmed.

“We’re doing an investigation right now to understand how it could happen, what happened. Already there are more measures put in place to make sure it never happens [again],” she said.

Ontario’s Ministry of Education has been notified.

Parent doesn't want son to return

Julie Proulx said her son Jaden was part of the group. She said she’s never sending her child back to that daycare.

Julie Proulx says she's looking for a nanny to take care of her three-and-a-half year old son Jaden at home. (CBC)

“They say they always had eyes on him, but if you had eyes on my son, how come he ended up in a stranger’s car [on the way] back to school?” she said.

“Can you imagine if [my boyfriend] had shown up 10 minutes early, 15 minutes early, someone would have said, ‘Sorry, your son’s not here?’”

Proulx said besides looking for answers, she’s looking for a live-in nanny because “I know he’d be safe in my house.”