Crime & Courts

Anchorage School District gets 2nd report of attempted student abduction in 1 week

Update, Oct. 16: The Anchorage Police Department said on Monday it cannot confirm the report made on Friday.

The Anchorage School District said there was a reported attempt to abduct a fifth-grade student who was walking to Ptarmigan Elementary School on Friday morning.

It's the second report of an attempted abduction of an Anchorage student in one week.

The school district sent an email around 1:15 p.m. Friday to parents alerting them of the attempted abduction.

"The student involved this morning was able to get away and is safe, but it is clear that our entire community must come together to assure that all of our children are safe traveling to and from school," the email said.

Ptarmigan Elementary School is on Edward Street, northwest of the intersection of DeBarr Road and Turpin Street.

It's less than 2 miles away from the Costco on DeBarr Road, where police said a man tried to kidnap a middle school student last Friday while she was waiting for a school bus.

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[Man sought in child abduction attempt in East Anchorage]

Nora Morse, an Anchorage police spokeswoman, said on Friday that officers had yet to make any arrests in last week's attempted abduction case, but they were "working on leads."

Police said in a statement around 4:15 p.m. Friday that there were "no indications" that the report of an attempted abduction that morning had any connection to last week's case.

The statement said officers were "actively investigating" the report of the "alleged abduction" Friday morning. Morse said police received a report around 8:50 a.m. Friday of the attempted abduction of a fifth-grade boy.

"There is no suspect information available at this time and no additional leads to further the investigation," the police statement said.

Morse said she did not have additional information about what the student said happened, including where exactly he was walking.

Catherine Esary, school district spokeswoman, said the student reported the attempted abduction to school staff. She referred additional questions to police.

Esary said school principals made announcements Friday to inform students of safety tips when walking to school. She said school staff would also send flyers home with students Friday with that information.

Safety tips from the Anchorage School District

Remind children:

* Stay with a group.

* Always walk with at least one friend, two or three is even better.

* If a stranger offers you a ride, say "NO!" and stay far away from their car.

* If a stranger follows you on foot, get away from him or her as quickly as you can. You can run and yell loudly, "HELP!"

* If a stranger follows you in a car, turn around and go the other direction.

* Never leave school with a stranger.

* Tell a trusted adult if a stranger is hanging around the school, playground or public bathroom.

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* Leave items and clothing that display your name at home so a stranger cannot read it and use it to talk with you.

* If you arrive home alone, call your mother, father or other trusted adult to let them know you are home and all right. Keep the door locked, don't open the door for strangers and don't tell strangers that you are home alone.

* Never accept things from a stranger.

* If a stranger asks you a question, don't talk to them.

* Run away.

* Don't go anywhere with a stranger.

Tegan Hanlon

Tegan Hanlon was a reporter for the Anchorage Daily News between 2013 and 2019. She now reports for Alaska Public Media.

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