Numerous Runaways at Whispering Hill Center Near Flatonia

Five youth ran away from Whispering Hills Achievement Center on Saturday, and then four ran away from the facility Monday morning, according to the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office.

Lt. David Beyer of the Sheriff’s Office said all of the youth have been recovered and returned to the facility.

“It’s becoming a major problem for us,” Beyer said.

Whispering Hills is a residential treatment center licensed for youth ages five through 17. The facility is located on FM 609 north of Flatonia. It contracts with the State of Texas to provide residential services to children with emotional, mental and developmental disorders whose parents or guardians are unable to care for them. Flatonia I.S.D. provides educational services at Whispering Hills. The Record profiled Whispering Hills in 2020 following a string of runaway incidents that year. At the time, the Sheriff’s Office said Whispering Hills needed to, at the very least, improve fencing around the facility to keep the children away from the dangerous highway. Beyer told the Record this week that no improvements have been made to the fence since that time. The Record attempted to reach Darryl Ashford, administrator at Whispering Hills, to inquire about the recent runaways. Ashford had not responded at the time of this publication.

Beyer said deputies from the Sheriff’s Office and Flatonia Police officers located and returned the youth who ran away on Saturday. He said the staff at Whispering Hills was able to recover the youth who ran away on Monday before deputies arrived.

Beyer said some of the youth at Whispering Hills have developmental disorders and may not understand the danger of walking in traffic on FM 609, the busy highway that runs alongside the Whispering Hills property.

“One of these kids is going to get hurt or killed out there,” Beyer said. “You would think they would want to secure the place.”

Beyer said the Sheriff’s Office referred the case to Child Protective Services.