Highline Schools students report 3 separate attempted lurings in a month
DES MOINES, Wash. -- Parents in South King County are on alert after three attempted lurings of students within a month.
Two of the cases involved students on their way to Mount Rainier High School. Right now police don’t believe these cases are related, because the suspect descriptions are different, and the way they approached students was different.
Marissa Cabiao can’t believe a possible child predator could be lurking around her Des Moines neighborhood.
“That’s just ridiculous, it's crazy,” she says.
Police say that on Wedesnday morning a man in a gray pickup truck exposed himself to a student as she was waiting for the bus on South 242nd Street. That bus stop is just down the street from Cabaio’s home.
“When my son first started here, I used to go over there. I'd meet all the parents, we'd talk and stuff. Then I got used to it, so I’d have my son just go by himself.”
She’s now wondering if that’s safe. This is the third time a Highline Public Schools student has been approached by a stranger in a month.
On January 21, a student says a man followed her and offered her a ride as she walked to school near International Boulevard and South Kent-Des Moines Road. In the other case, on January 6, a man tried to grab a student near her bus stop on South 208th and 32nd Avenue South.
School officials say their officers are working with police to keep students safe.
“We have school security officers, and we always when we have an incident like this, have extra patrols in the area around arrival and dismissal times,” says Catherine Carbone Rogers.
She says the district also sent out notices to parents, with descriptions of the suspects in each case.
“If there's something in the neighborhood that might pose a threat to students, we want our families to know so they can be hyper-vigilant, they can talk to their students and make sure they're using safe practices to get back and forth to school.”
Cabaio says she already has safety discussions with her son.
“I definitely do, and the school also tells them to be careful, walk with a friend or a group of people, never alone.”
She says after hearing about this latest case, she’ll be more watchful now.
“I really have to be more careful now in making sure the kids are OK.”
The suspect in the most recent case is described as 30-40 years old, with tan skin, a mustache and a medium build. He was driving an old gray pickup with a teal green fender and tinted windows. If you have information, you’re asked to call Des Moines Police.
The Kent Police Department is investigating the January 21 incident. The suspect is described as a heavyset white male, 30-35 years of age, with greasy dark blonde hair. He was wearing a red shirt and gray coat, and was clean shaven. He was in a tan, four-door sedan. It was an older model but nice in appearance.
The suspect in the January 6 case was a black male approximately 5’10”. He was wearing a black jacket and black jeans with white tennis shoes. SeaTac Police are heading up that investigation.