Issaquah School District officials are warning parents again about strangers approaching children after a Sept. 29 incident involving a local elementary school student was reported to Bellevue Police.
ISD officials said a 9-year-old Sunset Elementary School student was appraoched by an unknown man in a dark-green GMC vehicle at around 8:50 a.m. on 182nd Avenue Southeast and asked if the student would like a ride up the hill. When the student said no, the man—who had short white hair and a white mustache and was wearing a black hat and green jacket—drove away. The student reported the interaction to school officials, and a Bellevue Police Officer interviewed the student and filed a report.
The officer visited the neighborhood and did not locate any vehicles matching the description.
The student-stranger incident is the second such incident in the Issaquah School District this month. On Sept. 18, a Maywood Middle School student was approached by a woman in a late-model grayish-blue pickup truck.
School officials advise parents to remind their children the following safety tips:
• Never talk to a stranger
• Never let a stranger get too close, whether the stranger is in a car or walking
• Never tell a stranger any personal information, such as name, age, or address
• Try to walk in pairs with a friend or an adult
• Stick to safe, well-lit paths when walking
• Do not obstruct hearing with iPods or portable music players when walking or waiting outside
• If a stranger tries to grab you, yell as loudly as you can and run away
• Immediately alert an adult if you are approached by a suspicious person.
The Bellevue Police Department is asking anyone recognizing the description of the suspect or possessing information about the incident to contact them at 425-452-6917 or toll free at 1-877-881-2731.
