'I was pretty scared:' 10-year old describes child luring incident in Lewis County



PE ELL, Wash. -- The search is on in this small Lewis County town for a man who is trying to lure children into his truck.

It happened to two 10-year-old boys on two separate days along Main Street in the community of under 700 people.

“I was pretty scared,” said Jesse Zard, when talking about the man who tried to convince him to get into his truck. The incident happened just after Jesse bought some candy at the local Mini-Mart and was on his way home.

“I was riding my bike and dropped my candy and when I went down to pick it up, I noticed a car on the side of me,” said Jesse. “He said, ‘If you get in my car, I’ll give you an Xbox.”

Instead, Jesse rushed home and told his mom and the man sped off.

“Pretty much the classic luring scheme,” said Mike Harnett, the marshal for Pe Ell.

According to Harnett, a day earlier, another 10-year-old was approached by a man in the same truck. He also ran home to his parents.

The truck is described as a blue Ford Ranger pickup, driven by a white man wearing a black hooded sweatshirt with the hood pulled down over his head.

“It’s very small town but it can happen anywhere,” said Hartnett. “Parents just need to tell their kids to be alert, be aware, and if somebody starts talking to them and they don’t know them as a family member or close friend, they should disengage immediately and go to the nearest house.”