School district warns parents about incident

November 24, 2005

MARY AMES\Frontiersman reporter

PALMER - The Mat-Su Borough School District sent out a letter to parents last week, warning them that a man approached a child walking home Nov. 17 from a Palmer-area bus stop.

The incident was reported to Palmer police, the letter said.

Lt. Thomas Remaley of the Palmer Police Department said a report written by Officer James Hammons stated that Hammons received a report of a suspicious vehicle, either teal or red and white in color, and either a Suburban or Ford Explorer, which approached two children who got off the bus in the Cedar Hills subdivision.

The driver was described as a white man with dark hair, 30 to 40 years old, Remaley said.

The driver rolled down the window, appeared to be about to say something and then sped away.

Floyd said the school district first heard about the incident by word of mouth from parents, but waited to send its letter until being officially informed by someone from the Palmer police. The letter also contained tips to help parents teach their kids about personal safety.

Individual schools decided whether to send the letter home with students, to tweak the letter a little to make it more appropriate for middle school students or to take other actions, Floyd said. Her own children told her they discussed personal safety in their classrooms as a result, she said.

&#8220We walk a fine line between informing and scaring,” Kim Floyd, the district's spokeswoman, said.

Staff at Children's House, a Palmer child-care center, warned parents to keep an eye out for a green Chevrolet Suburban with a driver who was trying to pick up children, after hearing about the incident from parents Friday, personnel there said Wednesday.

Another concerned parent e-mailed the Frontiersman, saying that on Nov. 16, there was an attempted child abduction in the Cedar Hills subdivision, which was thwarted by a fifth-grader.

&#8220I am disappointed that there was not an article in the Frontiersman to warn as many parents and kids as possible to help keep them safe,” she wrote. &#8220I figured someone would have notified the local paper without revealing who the victim was to protect them and their family.”

The school district letter asked anyone with information on this incident or a similar one to contact Palmer police at 745-4811.

Contact Mary Ames at 352-2284 or mary.ames@

frontiersman.com.