Update: Check the comments… it was kind of a false alarm, but still tell your kids to be wary of strangers.
Got this post from an email:
I am a Girl Scout Leader, a mother to 3 children, a substitute teacher and volunteer with LWBE, and a friend to many residents here in Steiner Ranch. I received a disturbing phone call this afternoon and I need to pass along this warning to ALL of my friends. I hope you will pass it along as well. As we enter the summer break from school, the children will be spending more time outdoors, and at times will be unattended by an adult. It is important that we remind them to stay alert to STRANGERS and make sure the children know what to do in case someone does approach them. The more people we alert, the safer our children will be.
Two siblings from LWBE were walking home from school today where Grandma was waiting for them. The boy just finished 5th grade and arrived about a minute before his 3rd grade sister, who is in my Brownie troop. The family happens to live behind the gates on Country Trails Road, and have a security camera installed on their home facing the driveway. A newer model maroon Chevy pickup truck with either an extra door or an extended cab, and grey running boards, pulled up to the home just a few seconds after the boy arrived home and had entered the house through the front door. The driver of the truck was a white man, in his 40s, with a medium build and dark hair with a bald spot in the back. He exited the truck and walked around the home, seeming to look for the boy. He got back into the truck and was pulling out when the 9 year old girl arrived home.
He asked, “Do you need a ride anywhere?”
She shook her head and replied “No!” and kept walking.
The girl reports that she thought he was just a maintenence worker leaving her house so she wasn’t immediately alarmed, however he didn’t leave so she got spooked and ran into her home. It is unclear to me whether he exited the car again at this time or not, but she was smart to run away. It appears that he was interested in these children, and I am so thankful they were able to safely get into their home. The police were informed and have viewed the video.
We live in a nice *bubble* here in Steiner, but this is a very frightening reminder that we cannot fool ourselves into thinking an abduction can’t happen here. I am so thankful that the children knew what to do and were able to get home safely. Please remind your children to stay vigilant and be alert to anyone in their neighborhoods that they do not know. They should NEVER approach a strange car, they do NOT have to answer to a stranger, and its generally best if they are with a buddy and not alone.
Please forward this to anyone here in Steiner that you can so we can all be on the lookout for this maroon Chevy pickup truck with an adult white male driver in his 40s with black balding hair. The truck bed did NOT contain a lock box or tool box. If you happen to see anyone meeting this description call 911 and alert the police. I hope you all have a safe and fun summer break — keep your children (and your neighbor’s children) aware of stranger danger and remind them of what they should do if approached by someone they do not know.
6 responses so far ↓
1 Rob Mack // Jun 9, 2009 at 4:52 pm
According to a post to our neighborhood mailing list, this wasn’t an abduction attempt, but just a misunderstanding. It’s a good reminder to talk to your kids about strangers though.
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Excerpted from an email to our neighborhood newsgroup, names removed:
FYI. The original abduction story that was being sent out via e-mail was incorrect. Please pass this on. The little girl who reported this incident should still be commended for reporting this, but it turned out to be an innocent mistake. Think about if this had been your husband trying to pick up one of your kids from a party.
Here is the story: My neighbor two houses up on the right from me was having a end of year class party for his son (Ryan, who is Ethan’s age) right after school on Friday. So, my other neighbor’s daughter on the left of me comes home walking from school and sees a man get out of his truck and go and look in her back yard. On his way back he sees the girl and asks her “Do you know Ryan”? Watching him go look in her back yard must of scared her and she thought he said “Do you want a ride”. She told her parents and called the police. The guy had the wrong house and was looking in the back to see if there was a party going on there (they were having a pool party). My neighbor with the girl has video cameras outside their house and had a picture of the guy and his truck (but not the license plate) so later that day they asked all the nearby neighbors to come watch the video to see if they recognized this “abductor”! My neighbor who was having a party recognized the guy and said that was one of his son’s friends dad! So now this poor guy has to be all embarrassed I am sure as well as the girl!
2 Michelle // Jun 9, 2009 at 7:40 pm
Thank you for the story and the follow-up. It’s good to be cautious, but panic helps no one.
3 Austin Weddings // Jun 10, 2009 at 8:52 am
I’m so glad I read the comments before I freaked out about the story! Still, it’s truly a great reminder to speak to our kids about the dangers of strangers. Love the blog. Lots of great info!
4 CMS // Jun 10, 2009 at 2:24 pm
I don’t think the family over-reacted AT ALL in calling the police and notifying their neighbors. Watching your security camera video and seeing a man walking around your home (your private property) just after your young child gets home and then that same man approaching your other child (a little girl) from his car is something of a great concern! Thank God nothing happened to these children. And if this man did make an “innocent” mistake, I do hope that he has learned some common sense from this experience. He should know the address of the home his child is visiting. He should not walk around private property. He should NOT approach young children and ask them questions. We teach our kids to avoid these stranger situations. Nothing is more important than keeping our children safe!!
5 Mildly Annoyed // Jun 24, 2009 at 12:51 am
One other important lesson from this incident (and I know my comment will annoy some people, but I think it’s a rampant problem in general) is that we need to be a little cautious about sending out mass emails before all of the facts have been established. It’s so easy with email, blogs, etc. for misinformation to spread with lightning speed. I’m not saying the girl or her family were wrong here, or that the gentleman in question didn’t use the best judgement, just that this was an innocent misunderstanding that didn’t need to turn into a neighborhood-wide embarrassment. Just my 2 cents worth!
6 whatever // Aug 5, 2009 at 11:51 am
Go ahead and be annoyed if you want, but your tune would sure be different if it had been YOUR 8 year old daughter involved in this incident. I am so happy we have the internet to spread warnings like this. Yes, this one turned out to be a false alarm, but if it had been real the internet would be one more tool to use in getting the word out quickly.
I agree that many parents in Steiner feel they live in a ‘bubble’ and don’t keep close tabs on their children. It is especially important to have this type of reminder during the out of school months when children are playing outdoors.
I also think its ridiculous to say this was a neighborhood wide embarrassment. The families have NOTHING to be embarrassed about, nor does the email author. I happen to know that the girl’s family asked that the message get out there to inform people of the potential danger. I don’t see anything wrong with that!!
We can thank God that it was a false alarm, but it was by no means a mistake. One of the many perks of living here in Steiner Ranch is our close-knit community feeling. We all watch out for each other, and this was just another form of that.
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