Authorities say a man claiming he was joking frightened two Festus Middle School students Monday afternoon (Feb. 2) as they walked past Festus Elementary at the end of their school day.
“He said he was just trying to scare them,” Festus Police Chief Tim Lewis said today (Feb. 3). “But, at the present time, it’s just not smart to do something like this near a school. This is like saying you’ve got a bomb on an airplane. It’s not funny.”
The 39-year-old Festus man was arrested and released pending application for warrants, Lewis said. The department is reviewing the case to determine the type of charges to seek, he said.
He said his department received a call from Festus R-6 School District officials of an attempted abduction shortly before 3 p.m. at Festus Elementary, 1500 Mid-Meadow Lane. The suspect, a passenger who was seated in a parked red pickup, gestured and yelled at the girls, they told police.
“There were two girls in the seventh- or eighth-grade, I’m not sure, walking by the elementary,” Lewis reported. “Whatever he did frightened them. They went into the school and reported it and the school called us.”
Before police arrived, the pickup drove away.
The chief praised the girls for their description of the man and the truck and the quick reporting of the incident by school officials to police. The description led to the man’s quick arrest by other officers when the description was released over police radio, he said.
“He was captured within five minutes, but that’s because the kids were smart enough to report it and the school called us,” he said. “It shows what can happen when you get a good description and you call it in right away. If not, he could have still been out there and people would have remained concerned.”
Lewis said police later learned the driver of the vehicle had gone inside Festus Elementary to discuss a matter involving his child.
“It appears the driver did not know what the suspect had done,” Lewis said. “He does not appear to be involved.”
Festus School District Superintendent Link Luttrell said he appreciated the rapid response of the Festus Police.
“We just want to thank again the city of Festus for being a great partner,” he said. “They got right on it.”