Caution urged

Two local schools are urging students to be extra cautious after a person asked students to get into a vehicle Wednesday afternoon.

Two Grade 6 students and one Grade 1 student from Woodcrest Public School were walking home around 3:45 p.m. Wednesday when a person in a blue pick-up truck stopped and asked the children to get in the vehicle, said Lakehead Public Schools education officer Charlie Bishop.

The children went straight home and told their parents, he said.

The parents then called the school and the principal contacted other schools in the area, the school board and police.

"The vice-principal called the police and told the police what happened," Bishop said.
But police say that call, which school board officials logged at 4:38 p.m., didn’t warrant an investigation because according to records the police were told that the vehicle just slowed down and didn’t approach the children.

"I don’t have a suspicious vehicle (call) or anything involving a school around that time," said Thunder Bay Police Services executive officer Chris Adams.

Bishop said the board is trying to clarify the issue with police.

Meanwhile notifications went out to parents at C.D Howe and Woodcrest to reinforce safety protocols for children when approached by strangers.

Those protocols included a suggestion that students use a buddy system and not talk to strangers.