Van follows Lacey boys, police say

Parents of Meadows students receive letter of notification

By Jeremy Pawloski | The Olympian • Published March 04, 2009

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LACEY – Lacey police are looking for help finding a white van that might have been involved in an attempted child luring.

North Thurston Public Schools officials reported that the driver of a white van approached and questioned two male Meadows Elementary students about 7:30 p.m. Monday, Thurston County Chief Criminal Deputy James Chamberlain said.

A month earlier, on Feb. 5, a white van with the word "flower" written on the side reportedly trailed a 12-year-old boy after he exited a school bus at 57th Street and Stockton Drive Southeast. The boy said two suspects exited the van and chased him as he ran to his house.

There is no information in police reports from Monday's incident that the van involved had "flower" written on it, Chamberlain said.

During Monday night's incident, the two Meadows students reported that a driver and his passenger questioned them from the vehicle but did not attempt to abduct them, Chamberlain said.

Parents were sent a letter that went home with students Tuesday advising them of Monday's incident.

North Thurston school officials have sent four letters home to parents during the past month advising them of suspicious incidents involving cars approaching students, said North Thurston Public Schools spokeswoman Courtney Schrieve. Two of those letters were sent to the entire school district, one was sent to parents of Lakes Elementary School students and the other was Tuesday's letter to Meadows parents.

Three of the incidents that were reported to North Thurston parents involved white vans, Schrieve said.

Schrieve said it is important to educate students about walking home from school with a buddy. They also should be on alert to memorize or write down the license plates of suspicious vehicles they might encounter, she said.

Jeremy Pawloski covers public safety for The Olympian. He can be reached at 360-754-5465 or jpawloski@theolympian.com.