Very similar to attempts in Webster County Sunday; authorities looking for white cargo van
The Greene County intermediate school in Grand Junction and the elementary and middle schools in Jefferson were put on external lockdown Monday afternoon after an attempted abduction was reported near the school in Grand Junction.
According to the Greene County sheriff’s office, a woman was walking a friend’s dog while her 3-year-old daughter rode a bicycle on Hager St near the school at about 11:30 am. The youngster had ridden out in front of her mother when a man wearing a ski mask got out of a white van and grabbed her off her bicycle. The mother released the dog, who ran to the assailant and bit him in the arm. The man let go of the girl and got back in the van. The van left the scene.
The woman reported that the van had passed them during their walk and had then come past again when the attempted abduction took place.
The three school buildings were put on lockdown at 1 pm as a precaution, according to elementary principal Scott Johnson. There was no outside recess during the afternoon. “On a matter of safety, I’d rather err on the side of caution,” he said.
Parents were alerted using the One Notify system, and school staff offered to keep children who usually walk home from school there at the buildings until parents could pick them up at the end of the school day. Johnson said many parents of elementary children accepted the offer. Children are always supervised as they board buses at the school.
The attempted abduction in Grand Junction is similar to incidents in Gowrie yesterday at 2:50 pm and in Dayton at 5:09 pm. In both incidents, girls reported a man in a ski mask approaching them and a white van, truck, or SUV.
The Greene County sheriff’s daily report from Sunday night includes two reports of suspicious vehicles, including a white vehicle at the Sparky’s One Stop in Churdan at 10:25. Both times, the vehicles were gone from the area when deputies arrived.
The Greene County sheriff’s office is looking for a white cargo van with no windows or license plates. Reportedly, a black male was the driver in Grand Junction and a white male was wearing a ski mask. Anyone with information is asked to call the Greene County LEC at 515-386-2136, or 9-1-1 to report an abduction in progress.
