Strangers Accost Children On Way To And From School

Three incidents involving strangers accosting children on their way to or from school were reported to the Sheriff’s Department in February.

In one, a man carrying a map approached a seventh-grade student as she walked home from Bowdish Junior High School. He asked for directions to Bowdish and then grabbed the girl by the arm. She kicked him in the knee and fled to nearby South Pines Elementary, according to the police report and letters sent home by some schools to parents.

The other two incidents also occurred near schools. In each case the child or children escaped safely. The descriptions of the suspects and their vehicles vary from incident to incident.

Sheriff’s Department spokesman Dave Reagan said he was not aware of any escalating trend of such incidents in the Valley.

“We get these (reports) in on and off,” he said.

Parents should discuss safety issues with their children, advised Skip Bonuccelli, Central Valley School District spokesman.

“The No. 1 thing is awareness,” Bonuccelli said.

The incident involving the Bowdish student happened Feb. 6 on 24th Avenue, one block east of Bowdish. The suspect, a white male in his mid-20s, got out of a small, dark blue or black four-door car. He was described as 6-foot-1, 190 pounds, wearing blue jeans, a black leather jacket, black boots and gloves, a black ballcap and wrap-around sunglasses. He had a beard and mustache.

The second incident occurred Feb. 14. Two teenage males in a blue van approached two 8-year-old girls waiting at their school bus stop at 28th and Blake. The suspects told the girls that their school bus had broken down and that they were supposed to ride to school in the van. However the school bus arrived and the suspects drove away in the van.

The most recent incident occurred Feb. 20. Two children were walking home from Sunrise Elementary when the were approached near 24th and Adams by a white male in his 20s. The man got out of a small, white pickup truck and chased the children, siblings ages 10 and 8, but did not catch them.

The suspect was described as wearing a greenish colored heavy coat, possibly with a backpack. The truck had Washington license plates, the report stated.

, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: SAFETY TIPS Here are some safety ideas that parents can share with their children who walk to or from school: Know where the McGruff Houses are in your neighborhood. McGruff Houses, marked by placards with the cartoon character, act as safe houses for any child in need of help. Ask your school principal for a list of McGruff houses in the neighborhood. Make sure that children - and school officials - know who is allowed to pick them up in emergencies. Make sure that schools have updated daytime phone numbers for individuals to contact in an emergency. Instruct children not to talk with strangers, or accept candy, toys or gifts from strangers. Make sure your children know they should flee and find a safe place if a stranger approaches. “Try not to create paranoia, but awareness about how to respond,” said Skip Bonuccelli, Central Valley School District spokesman. And, adults should report any suspicious incident to police, he said. Make children aware of safe places on their way home from school. Parents might want to walk the route together with their children on a Saturday, pointing out places the children might go for safety and even creating special names for those places, Bonuccelli suggested. Marny Lombard