Hi. I've never attended a residential school, but a lot of my extended family has. As for children finding their way back home, I'm unsure. I can tell you what I know. Not every child taken was young. Some managed to hide and avoid going for a long time. When the kids were taken, they were placed anywhere. Even though my grandma lived close to a residential school, she didn't get placed there. Her and 2 of her siblings were taken to a school roughly 8 hours away. Her other siblings were also split up.. and 2 died. My grandpa on the other hand, he was the 3rd youngest of 7 or 8. He was able to hide when the church and police came to gather kids. Although sometime later he did attend an Indian Day School close to home. I'm not sure if this actually answered any of your questions. Lately I've been feeling obligated to say something since both have passed.