School District Speaks Out: Talk to Your Kids About the Attempted Kidnappings

[Editor's Note: The released this announcement early this morning, as a reaction to in recent months. View a mock up of the suspected assailant at right.]

Over the past few months there have been three recorded incidents of a man approaching a student on an elementary campus and asking if the student needed a ride home from school. He is described as a Latino male 5’7” with dark hair wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, blue jeans, white shoes and is clean shaven. In each of these cases the school principal has been contacted and in turn the Sheriff’s Department has responded to interview the respective victims.

We would like for you, as parents, to talk with your children about safety outside your home. The following is modified from The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, www.missingkids.com:

What are the most important things parents should tell children about safety?

1. Always check first with a parent, guardian, or trusted adult before going anywhere, accepting anything, or

   getting into a car with anyone.

Additionally:

Speak to your children in a manner that is calm and reassuring. Children do not need to be frightened to get the point across. In fact, fear can thwart the safety message, because fear can be paralyzing to a child.

Speak openly. Children will be less likely to come to you about issues enshrouded in secrecy. If they feel that you are comfortable discussing the subject at hand, they may be more forthcoming.

Practice what you preach. You may think your children understand your message, but until they can incorporate it into their daily lives, it may not be clearly understood. Find opportunities to practice “what if” scenarios.

Teach your children that safety is more important than manners. In other words, it is more important for children to get themselves out of a dangerous situation than it is to be polite. They also need to know that it is okay to tell you what happened, and they won’t be tattletales.

Please be assured that the Sheriff’s Department will be actively providing extra patrol in the area in an effort to identify this individual. As a school district we will be on alert in an effort to help the Sheriff’s Department in their search. If you have additional questions, please contact your site principal.