By Matt Kelly

Living Sky on alert after possible abduction attempt

Jun 10, 2016 | 7:00 PM

A recent possible abduction attempt has the Living Sky School Division alerting schools, students and families to be vigilant in outdoor supervision.

Battlefords RCMP is looking for a man who allegedly grabbed the arm of a 10-year-old child yesterday, in an attempt to direct the student to a nearby vehicle. However the student screamed and the man let go and drove away.

Shannon Lessard, the senior executive assistant and communications coordinator for Living Sky, said incidents like this are something school divisions have to deal with.

“Just being prepared,” Lessard said. “Hoping something would never happen like that, but always having the students and the staff prepared for it.”

Lessard said the division has a plan in place if and when an abduction attempt is made at a school.

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“The immediate thing is to contact the parent of the student and then contact the RCMP. Then they (RCMP) come in and then basically take over the investigation and we follow their lead on everything from then out,” Lessard said.

The teachers in Living Sky do have instructional periods where they teach the students what to do if they are ever approached.

“There’s definitely time put aside where the teachers in the classrooms talk to the students about those types of situations and to make sure to get away and report it right away to someone in the school,” she said.

The incident happened at an elementary school in Battleford during recess between 2 and 2:15 p.m. Thursday June 9. Administrators with the district declined identifying the specific school where the incident took place.

The suspect is described as a man in his 30s with brown eyes, wearing a red hat, brown shirt and blue jeans. He was last seen driving a white truck down 25th St.

Anyone with information regarding this case is asked to contact the Battlefords RCMP or Crime Stoppers.

mkelly@jpbg.ca