Soft Lockdown at Horn and Roosevelt Elementary Schools Due to Mountain Lion Sighting

An Iowa City school official confirmed that there is a soft lockdown at Horn and Roosevelt Elementary Schools today due to a reported mountain lion sighting this morning in Iowa City.

The Iowa City Press-Citizen is reporting that there were two separate sightings reported of the mountain lion near Horn Elementary off Benton Street.

The sightings, one by a motorist and one by a homeowner, were called into the Johnson County Joint Emergency Communication Center, or JECC, at 7:37 a.m. and 7:38 a.m., JECC Executive Director Gary Albrecht said.

Students in the two schools will be kept inside during the day just as a precautionary measure, according to Ann Feldmann, assistant superintendent of the Iowa City School District.

Feldmann said the Horn Principal received a call from the police this morning saying that they had credible information that a mountain lion could have been in the area. The decision to keep children indoors was made at that time.

"We decided to have an abundance of caution and keep kids indoors today, and also to keep an eye out (for the animal)," Feldmann said.

Feldmann said that caution would extend to the after school time as well as children are sent home.

According to a Gazette story, the mountain lion was reported to the University Heights police.

University Heights Police Chief Ron Fort said the report of a sighting near the playground at Horn Elementary School, 600 Koser Ave., came in at about 7:45 a.m. Friday.