By Caleb Hutton
Note: This post and the headline have been corrected. It turns out both incidents happened on the same day, at about the same time, according to police. I misnterpreted the chronology outlined in Superintendent Greg Baker’s letter. You can read the letter below.
Twice on Tuesday, Jan. 15, a Bellingham School District student was suspiciously approached by a stranger after school. Superintendent Greg Baker posted this letter to parents on the district website.
Dear Families,
I want to take this opportunity to remind our families about some safety precautions.As you may be hearing about in the news, a child was approached yesterday on the way home from Parkview Elementary School by a stranger in a black van near the 700 block of West Indiana Street. Late this afternoon, we received a different report that a stranger in a vehicle near Carrington and Barkley Boulevard approached a Whatcom Middle School student yesterday on the way home from school.In both cases, the children did the right thing by telling someone and parents reported the incidents to police. As of this time, no one has been arrested, but police are investigating. It is unknown if these two incidents are connected in any way. If you have any information that will help police in their investigation, please call 911.Please review some general safety reminders with your children:
- Tell an adult immediately if they see someone or something that makes them worry or feel uncomfortable.
- Stay with friends. Don’t travel alone.
- Always stay in well-lit, well-supervised areas.
We have shared this information with our staff. Please know that we take the safety of our children very seriously and appreciate your support.Thank you,Greg Baker
Here’s the story we ran about the first incident.
As a parent, this really gets to me. I’d like to see some details regarding this 2nd incident to figure out if it may be the same guy doing this.
We’re working on it. -Caleb
I believe the article title is incorrect. According to the superintendent’s letter, both incidents happened on the same day (1/16/13).
I was incorrect. The first incident was said to have happened Tuesday (1/15/13).
In my opinion you should run another story being very clear about what has happened. Please be more precise in what happened and what kind of vehicle was used in the second attempt? These are our children and we deserve better reporting.