An attempted child abduction occurred Wednesday morning between Baker Street and South Pennsylvania Avenue in Lansing - the fourth attempt in the area since September.
According to the Lansing Police Department, a 10-year-old female walking at 8 a.m. to Mount Hope Elementary School, 1215 E. Mount Hope Ave., was approached by a subject driving a new red four-door Cavalier or possibly a Beretta LS with a gray interior.
Police said the subject drove slowly down the street and waved at the child. He then turned around, pulled up next to her and repeatedly motioned and asked for her to get into the car.
The subject is described as a short, white male with black hair and a light stubble on his face, in his mid 30s to early 40s.
“We are very concerned with this case,” Lansing police Lt. Ray Hall said. “When her parent saw the vehicle, he tried to wave it down and they sped up.”
Hall said the attempted child abductions have heightened the department’s concern.
“We don’t want parents to be paranoid, but they do need to be cautious,” he said. “We have had four cases of attempted abduction, and we have yet to identify a suspect.
“Each of these cases remain unsolved and therefore we will continue to investigate them.”
The attempted abduction follows three other attempts. Police are investigating cases at the Mid-Michigan Public School Academy, 730 W. Maple Street, Willow Elementary School, 1012 W. Willow Street, and at Fulton Park, located at the end of Sheffield Drive west of Waverly Road.
Mark Mayes, public information and marketing supervisor for the Lansing School District, said parents need to continue educating their children on how to react to strangers.
“The issue is we have kids walking to school as they always have and will still continue to do,” Mayes said. “We make sure we are vigilant in teaching our children what to do, and parents are also reminded to tell them what to do in these cases.”
Hall said all four cases ended with children running away.
“The children did what we hoped they would do,” he said. “It is very reassuring that children are made well aware of what to do.”
In each case, the child thwarted the attempt of abduction and notified a parent or educator, Hall said.
“We have to commend the work parents and teachers are doing in educating children how to respond (to strangers).”
