A B.C. father is beside himself after his three-year-old daughter wandered away from her daycare providers and no one noticed until police called more than an hour later.

The Victoria girl was with staff at the licensed Footprints Academy when she wandered away during play time at a nearby park on Tuesday. A Good Samaritan saw the little girl wandering several blocks away and called police.

"She was in our care for about an hour when the officers found a number for a local daycare and upon calling there, realized that was were she was from," Victoria Police Insp. Steve Ing said.

Staff hadn't alerted police or her parents, which father Joshua says is unforgivable.

"This is a mistake that as a parent, I can't just move on. I can't just say, 'At least my daughter is okay,'" said Joshua, who requested that his full name not be used.

"It's despicable that a facility that is paid to take care of children actually let this happen without letting the parents know, because it's a parent's worst nightmare to get that phone call."

Daycare provider Lori Lamanes was in tears as she explained what went wrong.

"They were playing as a group and she slipped away. They came back here and did the count and she was gone," Lamanes said.

"It's just really sad when something like that happens and it's human error. We look after our kids the best we can and we will continue to do so, and I am very sorry to the family that it happened to. If it would have been mine, I would have been just as upset."

The local health authority is investigating the incident, and Footprints Academy is promising improvements.

With a report from CTV British Columbia's Brent Shearer