Elementary student luring incidents raise safety concerns among Sammamish parents
A series of luring incidents involving students at Mead Elementary School in Sammamish has raised concerns among local parents about how to ensure their children’s safety when they travel to and from school.
Luring is a serious criminal offense, because it often leads to acts of kidnapping, abuse, or other related crimes.
The first incident happened on Dec. 16, when a student was approached by a man in a white van while he was riding his bike to school. The student alleged the man attempted to lure him into the van.
The student reported this incident to his parents, who then reported it to Sammamish Police. Mead’s interim principal, Guinevere Joyce, sent a notice to all Sammamish-area families in the Lake Washington School District to inform them about this incident.
In the notice, Joyce said that the police will be working closely with the school and the student’s parents to investigate this incident. Sammamish Police will also be doing extra patrols in the area to ensure the safety of students.
The following day, another Mead student reported a similar luring incident to school administrators — that a man attempted to lure the student into a van. In response, a second notice was sent by Joyce, who said that additional district staff will be on school premises to keep the students safe, and that Sammamish Police would patrol walking areas near the school.
The two incidents have put local parents on edge.
“I can’t imagine that something like this is happening in our neighborhood,” said Hsin Kuan, 41, whose daughter goes to a local elementary school. “It makes me want to keep a close eye on my kids and escort them to and from school daily.”
“The two events are extremely worrying for us as parents and residents, since this is the first time this has happened to us and the school,” said Victoria Weng, 40, whose child attends Mead. “We might reconsider our plans to start using the school bus in January and will arrive much earlier for school pickups.”
Sammamish Police said they had no updates on their investigation after the Sammamish Independent reached out to them on Dec. 20.
School officials are urging parents to make sure their students walk or ride with another student, or go in a group. Several Sammamish area parents have reciprocated this message online.
