Crime & Safety
2 Reported Abduction Attempts Investigated By Renton Police
The incidents were reported two weeks apart in the Kennydale area. Both reports involved students walking home from school bus stops.
RENTON, WA — Renton Police Department detectives are investigating after two children reported men attempting to grab them along the same road in January. The attempted lurings were reported two weeks apart in the Kennydale area, and both involved students walking home from school. Police said there was no immediate indication the incidents were connected.
In the first case, a 9-year-old girl told police a man wearing "a reflective construction jacket" grabbed her by the backpack shortly after she got off the school bus on the 4900 block of Lake Washington Boulevard North, Jan. 9. The girl said the man let go when she began to scream. The girl and her school bus driver both reported seeing a man sitting in a white or silver sedan when the bus had arrived. Police said the victim did not get a good look at the suspect.
According to detectives, a second attempted luring case was reported on Thursday, Jan. 23, near Gene Coulon Park. A 10-year-old boy told police a man sitting in a large black truck approached him as he walked home from his bus stop on the 1400 block of Lake Washington Boulevard.
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Police said the man attempted to get the child to come with him, claiming the boy's mother had sent him. The boy did not believe him and ran away when the man tried to grab him. Police said a school bus driver saw part of the exchange and took the student to a safe location.
Detectives have not developed detailed descriptions of the suspects involved or the vehicles they were driving. Police said an investigation is ongoing.
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"If you have children, we ask that you regularly review personal safety guidelines with them," police said in a news release Tuesday.
"Arrange for them to walk with a buddy, teach them not to approach strangers, coach them to scream if anyone does anything threatening, and work out a safety code to use if trusted adults are to pick up the child in an emergency."
Anyone with information regarding either incident is encouraged to contact Det. Robert Onishi at 425-430-7529.
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