RAYTOWN, Mo. — A Raytown Middle School boy’s frightening encounter with a strange man Tuesday morning has area families, the school, and police looking out for the man. The incident was reported to school officials on Tuesday morning.
When the boy arrived at school on Tuesday morning, he quickly told his teacher about a man in a dark-colored pick-up truck who tried to grab him on his way to school. The man was described as a white man with an average build and in his 40’s.
The boy said the man was driving slowly near Hawthorne Ave. and Pittman, when the man then pulled up to him in a pickup truck with dark-tinted windows and asked the boy if he needed a ride.
When the student told the man he did not need a ride, the boy says the man parked his full-sized pickup truck and then followed him up the hill.
When the student got to school, he reported what happened and the school called police. Dr. Georgetta May then sent a letter to parents recommending a discussion with their children and extra caution.
Students that FOX 4 talked to on Wednesday, like eighth grader David Smith, said they are informed of what to do in the event the situation happens to them
“Run, scream, yell, stuff like that, get away,” Smith said.
Despite knowing those tactics and others like walking with friends and staying with large crowds, students are still scared and on alert.
“It kind of scared me because I walk home by myself sometimes from volleyball practice. So I was like, I don’t think I want to walk home by myself any more,” said 8th grader Raiyiona Wiley.
Officers patrolled the area but found no signs of the man or the truck. The investigation is ongoing. Students and parents are urged to remain vigilant.
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