Updated
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
Pe Ell Marshal Mike Hartnett is urging parents to talk with their children about what their safety plans should be following two reports of attempted child lurings.
Hartnett, in a news release he asked the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office to distribute, said both situations involved 10-year-old boys who said a man asked them to get in his pickup truck.
The first incident occurred about 1:30 p.m. on Friday in which the the subject told the boy if he got into his vehicle, he would give him money and a game; and the other about 7:30 p.m. on Saturday a block away in the area of state Route 6 and Seventh Avenue where the subject offered an Xbox, according to Hartnett.
In both cases, the children told the man no, they didn’t need a ride because they lived nearby, according to the news release.
The vehicle is described as a dark blue Ford Ranger extended cab pickup with green pinstripe on the door. The driver is described only as a white male wearing a black hooded sweatshirt pulled down over his head.
The truck left east on state Route 6 the first time and westbound after the second incident, according to the marshal.
Hartnett, who has been policing the tiny West Lewis County town since July, said nobody in Pe Ell has seen that vehicle before.
“I’m reaching out to other agencies in the three to four county area to see if they’ve had any similar incidents,” he said.
The marshal commended the youngsters for their responses.
“The boys did an excellent job avoiding the offers to get into the vehicle and reported the incidents to their parents and the parents contacted law enforcement,” he wrote in his news release.
He is requesting anyone with information to contact law enforcement.
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter
Wow even a small town can be so dangerous. Hope he gets caught soon and hope the young ones travel together or better yet, with an adult.