Cairo Association of Teachers - Newsletter

CAT Tracks for January 18, 2006 ATTEMPTED ABDUCTION AT MARION SCHOOL

A reminder to be remain vigilant...it CAN happen locally!

From today's Southern Illinoisan...

Police on alert after abduction attempt at Marion school

by ashley wiehle
the southern

MARION - An attempted abduction at Marion Junior High School Tuesday morning has area law enforcement agencies on alert.

A 12-year-old boy managed to evade perpetrators near the school, then immediately contacted police, said Detective Tina Morrow of the Marion Police Department.

"When approached, he (the child) was able to almost immediately get away," Morrow said. "He ran to a nearby business and called the police. It happened in the immediate vicinity of the junior high and when we responded, we took the information he provided."

The student described the perpetrators as a while male driver and a black male passenger. The passenger is described as being heavy set, about 6 feet tall with shoulder-length braided hair. The passenger, who exited the vehicle to approach the boy, was wearing a red St. Louis Cardinals shirt.

The information was passed on the Illinois State Police Emergency Radio Network, which alerts law enforcement officials throughout the state.

Law enforcement agencies will be on the lookout for people matching the description of the alleged offenders. In addition, the student told police the suspects were driving a "beat-up" two-door red vehicle with Florida license plates.

Parents of the child were contacted immediately, and the student attended school on Tuesday, Morrow said. Information through ISPERN dispatch will alert police immediately if there are any leads on the suspects.

"We've disseminated ISPERN dispatch that gives all the information that we receive to all law personnel and immediate dispatch so we can investigate," Morrow said. "When we have immediate info that goes out, it goes through the state police so they're aware of the information immediately."

School officials were taking the incident very seriously, said Marion Unit School District 2 Superintendent Wade Hudgens.

"At this point, we don't know if it happened or not, but we have treated it as it did," Hudgens said. "Police are conducting an investigation and we'll proceed from there."