Juneau School District officials said police are investigating what appears to be an attempted abduction at Gastineau Elementary School after school hours Thursday afternoon.
JSD spokeswoman Kristin Bartlett said in a phone interview she had not been informed if an arrest has been made yet.
Bartlett said a fifth-grade boy was walking toward his bike in front of the Douglas school, getting ready to ride home sometime after 2:30 p.m. when a man tried to talk him into his car. The man told the boy his mother had told him to pick the boy up.
Bartlett said the boy was wary and asked the man for the secret password his family had established for such emergencies. The man didn’t know it, and the boy quickly rode his bike home, Bartlett said.
“The student was right on it,” Bartlett said. “He quickly thought about the family password and asked the stranger if he knew it, and he didn’t. So he refused to get in the car and went straight home.”
Bartlett said the student’s mother called authorities to report the incident.
The Juneau Police Department could not be immediately reached for comment. A release issued late Thursday confirmed the details provided by JSD.
Gastineau Elementary School Principal Kathi Yanamura sent a phone message to parents at 5:30 p.m., saying the man was driving a small dark green car. He was described as being of medium build, black tight curly hair and facial hair, Yanamura said, urging anyone with information to call police.
Bartlett said police are currently investigating and that the school will do whatever they can to assist in the investigation.
“Right now, the police are handling the investigation,” Bartlett said. “They take the lead, and if there are things we need to do, we certainly will.”
Bartlett said a similar apparent attempted abduction was thwarted last year at Floyd Dryden Middle School.
• Contact reporter Emily Russo Miller at 523-2263 or at emily.miller@juneauempire.com.
Comments (13)
Add commentclose the school
This is yet one more reason why Gastineau school should be closed and absorbed into other schools within the district. The problems just keep piling up.
Good job to the little boy
Good job to the little boy for thinking and acting quickly. This is the first I had ever heard of the password plan. It is now in use in my household.
Nic, you clearly have no idea
Nic, you clearly have no idea what you are talking about and should move on to a different article. You missed the part of the article where it said an attempt was also made at Floyd Dryden. Should we close that school as well? Gastineau is a great school with great teachers! Unfortunatly we live in a world with sick people who should be locked up never to be seen again! Great job to the parents of this boy for teaching him to be safe. I hope all the parents out there follow their lead!
@Nic
Holding the school responsible for the actions of a possible kidnapper? That's reaching a little bit don't ya think? And what other problems are you refering to when you suggest the school should be closed?
Nic is just trying to stir
Nic is just trying to stir the pot more. Keep on focus, mainly that this little boy and his families forward thinking might have save his life.
Nic..
You're a moron.
Way to Go!
This boy was sharp and alert. One thing his parents might suggest--instead of riding home, go back into the school and report this to the office right away. The password is something we used with our children--now we KNOW it works! Great parenting, and what a fast thinking young man!
Amazing
What a smart boy!! I too have never heard of the password plan and it's now part of our family. Wonderful idea from great parents. Hope more children follow this boys great example!!
Great job little guy!
Sounds like you have great parents! Way to think fast!
I am the mother of this fifth
I am the mother of this fifth grader. I just want to say how impressed I was at how well the school handled this situation. This kind of thing could happen anywhere at any time and in no way is the school to be blamed for this. I received a personal phone call from our wonderful principal and from a member of the Site Coucil wanting to offer any further support and to see how our family was doing. I am fully confident the authorities are doing their job to seek this man out and to ensure the safety of our kids. The officer talked with my son and commended him, also reminding him to make sure to go to the nearest school, library or place of business next time. I thank God for my son's reaction and God's hand of protection in the situation.
This story should go STATE and NATIONAL
I am touched greatly by this story and am thankful for a happy ending. May the perpetrator rot in hell and may it happen soon!
Proactive Parenting
Excellent parenting! Instead of this incident becoming a tragedy, it became an example to other parents as one more thing they can do to help keep their own children safe from predators.
but what about the perp?
I agree - great reaction from student and school. But what about this person, do we really have someone in Juneau driving around in a small green car trying to abduct our children?