ST. CHARLES COUNTY, Mo. (First Alert 4) — Two Sylvan Learning Centers in Cottleville and Lake Saint Louis have closed abruptly, leaving parents without access to prepaid tutoring services and seeking refunds for thousands of dollars.

The doors are locked, the lights are off, and all furniture is gone. Parents say the people who ran the centers have disappeared.

“Poof, it’s all up in smoke,” said Brittany McNamara, a parent who enrolled her kindergartner at the Cottleville location.

McNamara enrolled her child for general tutoring last November and paid a lump sum for a tutoring package, plus monthly payments for tutoring hours.

“We paid 50% upfront, something like over a $1,000 for a package, and we paid an additional $195 a month,” McNamara said.

She said she was told her child would

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