Possible connection in 2 Spokane child lurings

SPOKANE — Spokane police detectives say they’re looking into a possible connection between two child-luring attempts that occurred near the same elementary school. In both cases — one on Tuesday and the other on Dec. 17 — young girls reported that a man in his early 30s driving a small, dark SUV approached them and asked them to get into his vehicle. Both happened in the morning, near Hamblen Elementary School, 2121 E. Thurston Ave. A 9-year-old girl approached Tuesday says a man grabbed her shoulder and said her parents didn’t want her to go to school and that he was supposed to drive her home. She ran inside the school unharmed. The school has sent a letter home to parents saying they shouldn’t let children walk alone.