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Worries over at least four apparent attempts to kidnap elementary school children in the Magnolia area have led Delaware State Police to call a town hall meeting to discuss the problem.
The meeting will bring parents up to date on the investigation, tell them what they can do and give tips on how to prevent future attempts.
The session, which is open to all parents and students, will be at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 21, in the auditorium at Caesar Rodney High School, 239 Old North Road, Camden. Even though all of the attempted abductions have taken place in the Caesar Rodney School District, everyone interested in the subject is invited to attend, said Troop 3 commander Capt. Galen M. Purcell.
“We wanted to hold this meeting to talk about the incidents and to let everyone know how seriously we’re taking it,” Purcell said. “It’s the top priority at this troop and all of our available resources are working on it.”
The troop and Caesar Rodney schools have gotten a number of calls from people worried about the attempts, the first of which occurred Nov. 12 on Trillium Drive in the Magnolia area. That was followed by a Dec. 8 attempt in the Whispering Meadows development and a Dec. 15 attempt in the Irish Hill development. The most recent took place Jan. 5 in the Reserve at Chestnut Ridge.
All four cases involved young schoolchildren walking alone to or from a bus stop, Purcell said. In each instance, the children said a man drove up to them and tried to lure them into his car either by offering a ride or free candy. In one instance the man simply tried ordering the child to get in the car.
Every time, the child either ignored the attempt or ran from the car.
In each case, the driver was described as a white man, although the children gave varying accounts of his age or appearance. In three cases, the man was driving a black or dark-colored car, although in the latest instance it was a white vehicle.
Purcell ascribes some of these differences to the ages of the witnesses, saying young children often are not as proficient at giving detailed descriptions as older children.
In working to provide a better possibility police might catch the person responsible for these incidents, Purcell has ordered patrol cars to canvass these areas as often as possible.
To protect the integrity of the investigation, he would not go into additional detail other than to say Troop 3 detectives are working with different law enforcement agencies, as well as schools and school resource officers. Personnel from the Delaware Information Analysis Center, a sort of clearinghouse for investigative data, also have been brought in on the case.
Worries over at least four apparent attempts to kidnap elementary school children in the Magnolia area have led Delaware State Police to call a town hall meeting to discuss the problem.
The meeting will bring parents up to date on the investigation, tell them what they can do and give tips on how to prevent future attempts.
The session, which is open to all parents and students, will be at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 21, in the auditorium at Caesar Rodney High School, 239 Old North Road, Camden. Even though all of the attempted abductions have taken place in the Caesar Rodney School District, everyone interested in the subject is invited to attend, said Troop 3 commander Capt. Galen M. Purcell.
“We wanted to hold this meeting to talk about the incidents and to let everyone know how seriously we’re taking it,” Purcell said. “It’s the top priority at this troop and all of our available resources are working on it.”
The troop and Caesar Rodney schools have gotten a number of calls from people worried about the attempts, the first of which occurred Nov. 12 on Trillium Drive in the Magnolia area. That was followed by a Dec. 8 attempt in the Whispering Meadows development and a Dec. 15 attempt in the Irish Hill development. The most recent took place Jan. 5 in the Reserve at Chestnut Ridge.
All four cases involved young schoolchildren walking alone to or from a bus stop, Purcell said. In each instance, the children said a man drove up to them and tried to lure them into his car either by offering a ride or free candy. In one instance the man simply tried ordering the child to get in the car.
Every time, the child either ignored the attempt or ran from the car.
In each case, the driver was described as a white man, although the children gave varying accounts of his age or appearance. In three cases, the man was driving a black or dark-colored car, although in the latest instance it was a white vehicle.
Purcell ascribes some of these differences to the ages of the witnesses, saying young children often are not as proficient at giving detailed descriptions as older children.
In working to provide a better possibility police might catch the person responsible for these incidents, Purcell has ordered patrol cars to canvass these areas as often as possible.
To protect the integrity of the investigation, he would not go into additional detail other than to say Troop 3 detectives are working with different law enforcement agencies, as well as schools and school resource officers. Personnel from the Delaware Information Analysis Center, a sort of clearinghouse for investigative data, also have been brought in on the case.
“They’re very good at analyzing information and deciphering what’s intelligence and what’s just information,” noted Lt. Joshua Bushweller, also of Troop 3.
Caesar Rodney School District Superintendent Dr. Kevin Fitzgerald also will speak at the town hall meeting to update parents on what the district is doing to keep its children safe.
“We’ve been working with the State Police closely on this issue,” Fitzgerald said. “But our big thing is prevention. We do our global connect calls to notify parents that something has taken place and we work within the schools to tell students what’s going on, what to do if they’re approached and how they should report it.”
Fitzgerald also has enlisted the help of district bus drivers, who sometimes are the only adults in the vicinity when children are at bus stops, to keep an eye out for suspicious people or vehicles.
Police also will unveil their newest public information campaign, dubbed Operation “Run-Yell-Tell” Stranger Danger Awareness. It contains numerous easy to understand tips for children if they ever are approached by a stranger.
Purcell said he will urge parents to share this information frequently with their children.
“It’s important that parents talk to their kids and tell them what’s going on,” he said.
“A simple conversation over dinner can make the difference as to whether a child becomes a victim or not.”
IF YOU GO
WHAT Delaware State Police Town Hall Meeting
WHERE Caesar Rodney HS Auditorium, 239 Old North Road, Camden
WHEN 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 21
ADMISSION Free; all parents and students are encouraged to attend
Operation “Run-Yell-Tell” Stranger Danger Awareness
1. Never walk to a school bus stop alone.
2. A grownup should not be asking you for help.
3. If approached, you do not need to say anything. Do not approach the person or vehicle.
4. Run – to a trusted neighbor, parent or adult.
5. Yell – “Stranger,” “Fire” or “Danger.”
6. Tell – what you saw and where you saw it.
7. Have a parent or trusted friend call 911 as soon as possible.
Source: Delaware State Police
Email Jeff Brown at jeff.brown@doverpost.com.
