‘Not even a phone call’: Shock revelation by little Nevaeh’s dad

As three-year-old Nevaeh Austin defies the odds to make a steady recovery after being left in a daycare bus, her father remains dumbfounded.

The first image of the tiny toddler recovering in hospital after being left for six hours on a childcare bus has been revealed, as her loving father questioned how the near-tragedy could have unfolded.

Three-year-old Nevaeh Austin was found unconscious and still strapped in her seat at 3pm at Le Smiley’s Early Learning Centre in Gracemere – a suburb near Rockhampton – on Wednesday, hours after being picked up at 9am.

After serious fears for her health and given just a 5 per cent chance of survival on Wednesday night, the little girl was now recovering well in Brisbane’s Queensland Children’s Hospital.

Her father Shane told Channel 9 he could not comprehend how his daughter, the only child to be on the bus, was not discovered earlier.

“She’s got her father’s voice, so she would have been loud, would have been screaming. I’m dumbfounded,” he said.

“All the people that walked past, and no one noticed, I want to know why.”

Mr Austin also revealed he had not received any information from the childcare centre he trusted to look after his daughter.

“Nothing. I didn’t even get a phone call,” he said.

The first image of Nevaeh Austin recovering at Queensland Children's Hospital, watched over by father Shane

Nevaeh’s grandmother said on Friday the three-year-old had been eating ice cream during their FaceTime chat.

“There are no words that I can find to describe the feeling, how I felt when I saw her the first time yesterday and last night, it was just amazing,” Pam Parker said.

“My baby little girl, she’s a fighter.”

Following the discovery of Nevaeh on the bus, she was rushed to Rockhampton Hospital in a critical condition and flown to Brisbane, where she had to undergo a deep brain scan and was suffering from kidney failure.

But in an encouraging sign, Nevaeh began breathing on her own on Thursday.

The hospital advised on Friday morning that Nevaeh was in a stable condition, with an image shared online showing the toddler asleep in bed with a teddy bear and a pink blanket, with father Shane keeping watch over her.

A family friend has begun fundraising efforts to help the family.

The friend, who goes by the name Sparkey Crackerjack on Facebook, said the funds would go directly to the family.

“This is not a scam, it is at the request of Nevaeh’s parents and their immediate family,” his Facebook post reads.

“Let’s get behind this family and help raise some much needed money in their time of need.”

Investigations continue at the Gracemere childcare centre.

Another family member of Nevaeh’s also shared her thanks, and said Nevaeh was a lucky little girl who had everyone praying for her to pull through.

“Thank you to everyone that has messaged, called or offered help at this horrendous time,” Christy Atta-Singh wrote.

On Friday afternoon the van which Nevaeh was found unresponsive in had been removed from the carpark of the childcare centre.

Police allege Nevaeh was the only one on the bus and had been with two workers – a female bus driver and another worker.

On the afternoon of the incident a police detective took photographs inside and outside of the van, which remained parked next to the entrance of the Le Smiley’s Early Learning Centre. By Friday afternoon, police tape had been removed from the entrance to the centre.

Police had declared the centre a crime scene and it was not able to operate until it was released.

Education Minister Grace Grace said her department took incidents like Nevaeh’s very seriously.

“My department will work with the Queensland Police Service to ensure, number one, that it is fully investigated and, number two, if there was any prosecution that is necessary, that I won’t hesitate to take those forward,” she said.

Shane Austin on Channel 9

Nevaeh Austin