Prescription Drugs Found in Child’s Happy Meal; 2 McDonald’s Employees Arrested

If you can’t go to McDonald’s, then where can you go? A Maine mother didn’t have a happy day after buying her child a happy meal.

According to PEOPLE, the mother said her “blood was boiling’ after finding prescribed drugs in her 11-year-old son’s Happy Meal.

The mother contacted the Auburn Police Department on June 30 over the incident. The drug found was prescribed Suboxone, which is used to treat narcotic dependence.

Two McDonald’s employees have been charged.

Authorities launched an investigation in which they interviewed staff and did an “extensive review of in-store video surveillance footage.” They concluded that the drugs were placed in the box by “accident.”

“The investigation has determined that an employee, while preparing meals for the drive-through, had the Suboxone prescription in a shirt pocket, along with a BIC pen. The employee bent over to retrieve something from behind the counter, at which time the prescription and pen fell from the shirt pocket, landing in the Happy Meal box,” explained police, and noted that that the McDonald’s management team cooperated with their investigation.

The employee didn’t notice the drugs fell into the box until later in his shift, and the matter was brought to the store’s attention. However, the employee received the drugs illegally from another coworker earlier in the shift.

Michael Sevey, 43, was charged with unlawful possession of scheduled drugs, and Mariah Grant, 29, was also charged with unlawful trafficking in scheduled drugs.

Both are scheduled to attend court on Nov. 3.

Owner and operator of the McDonald’s location, Taylor Goble, told PEOPLE that “my organization no longer employs these individuals.”

“In our restaurants, nothing is more important than the safety and well-being of our employees and customers. I was shocked and disappointed by the behavior of these crew members, which goes against the values we have as an organization and will not be tolerated,” Goble said in a statement obtained by PEOPLE Thursday morning. “We are taking this matter seriously so that we can continue to maintain our high standards.”

Shirlee Marchesseault has been identified as the mother who purchased the Happy Meal. She shared with WGME about her reaction to finding the drugs, “My blood was boiling. I didn’t even know what to do at that point, so I called the police,” she said. “I’m just wondering, like, how often does this happen? It shouldn’t be in the hands of any child. It’s dangerous.”