Abductions or Attempted Abductions Involving Schools

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http://www.campussafetymagazine.com...ost/Story/2010/07/Criminals-Can-Be-Quick.aspx

A colleague just sent me information on an appellate ruling relating to a civil action against a Nebraska school district. According to court documents, a man entered a school without signing in and was spoken to by school employees before he molested a young boy in a school restroom.

Though the attacker was quickly reported as a suspicious person by a staff member and actions were taken, the man was still able to locate and molest an unsupervised child during his short visit to the school.


http://www.campussafetymagazine.com...-Missing-From-Portland-Elementary-School.aspx

Though it is challenging to provide adequate security for special events at schools, it is possible to implement some relatively simple strategies to make them safer. It is not uncommon for elementary students to leave school undetected during the school day, and perpetrators of student abductions have previously exploited peak times of visitor traffic to abduct students.

I recently simulated the abductions of three students from a North Carolina elementary school during a red team assessment funded by the United States Department of Education. I was able to "abduct" all three students quickly and easily within a few minutes of entering the campus in the morning while parents where dropping their children off.
 
Haeve said:
Scotty Baker

In the early 1990s, his stepmother's friend disguised herself as the boy's "cousin", and he was allowed to be signed out of school by her. Stepmother later murdered him.

I need to go find the link.

ETA: http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20104652,00.html

The story doesn't give any details about the security at the school, but there is this:
Click to expand...

This happened at my elementary school - Scotty was my classmate. There was basically no security, parents in and out all day as it was right before Thanksgiving break. Our parents were coming in to eat lunch with us. A lot of changes came about in our school system (and others)afterwards that should have been in place before. It was a terrible time

I have had many deja vu feelings since I first saw Kyron's story reported on the news. Needless to say my first instinct was step mother. I hope his story has a happier ending.
 
I just want to say, that although I appreciate all the facts and cases you have pointed out, and I appreciate everything Dr. Phil had to say. It's really important to me to make an ENORMOUS distinction here. When I say that school abductions are rare. I am NOT talking about the Somer Thompsons, or the "typical teenage girl on her way to or from school." What makes Kyron's case unique is that, if TH's story is true, Kyron was taken from INSIDE the building. It's completely different from a perp with a vehicle out on the street and a walking child on the sidewalk.

Yes, Stacie Wilmoth was lured out of the building, and it may turn out that something similar happened to Kyron, but my GOODNESS what nerve a perp would have to do such a thing. Just think of the risk they'd be taking to come into a school, as a stranger, particularly on a busy day when there were so many witnesses in the halls. I just don't think it's the same thing as what happened to Somer Thompson AT ALL, and that is what I mean, and I what I assumed MOST people mean when they say that "school abductions" are rare. They are referring to abductions from INSIDE a school building.

Thanks.
 
Ted Bundy abducted a child, 11 or 12 years old, I think, from a school in Stark, FL. I don't think it's known how he did it. The little girl's body was found in a small, abandoned livestock shed. Sorry, I don't have time to google and give better details.
 
greenpalm said:
I just want to say, that although I appreciate all the facts and cases you have pointed out, and I appreciate everything Dr. Phil had to say. It's really important to me to make an ENORMOUS distinction here. When I say that school abductions are rare. I am NOT talking about the Somer Thompsons, or the "typical teenage girl on her way to or from school." What makes Kyron's case unique is that, if TH's story is true, Kyron was taken from INSIDE the building. It's completely different from a perp with a vehicle out on the street and a walking child on the sidewalk.

Yes, Stacie Wilmoth was lured out of the building, and it may turn out that something similar happened to Kyron, but my GOODNESS what nerve a perp would have to do such a thing. Just think of the risk they'd be taking to come into a school, as a stranger, particularly on a busy day when there were so many witnesses in the halls. I just don't think it's the same thing as what happened to Somer Thompson AT ALL, and that is what I mean, and I what I assumed MOST people mean when they say that "school abductions" are rare. They are referring to abductions from INSIDE a school building.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

fwiw, I thought this thread was related to something I said about this very thing. lol There may be a couple of instances in DECADES where a child was taken from inside a school, but I said it was "beyond rare," and I stand by that assertion :)

eta: I should have said stranger abductions from a school.
 
Spyglass said:
Ted Bundy abducted a child, 11 or 12 years old, I think, from a school in Stark, FL. I don't think it's known how he did it. The little girl's body was found in a small, abandoned livestock shed. Sorry, I don't have time to google and give better details.
Click to expand...

As I recall it, Ted Bundy died without directly confessing. He did speak in the third person to writers Stephen Michaud and Hugh Aynesworth, who co-wrote The Only Living Witness. How much of what he told them was actually true is unknown. According to them, the following (which is paraphrased from memory) is what happened:

That school was holding some classes in temporary classrooms located very close to the main school building. Kimberly Leach had her first class of the day in one of the temporary classrooms. She forgot her purse and it is believed that she left the main school building at the end of the between class time period to go back to get her purse. That would have made her late for her second period class but she probably felt that getting her purse was important enough to risk being reprimanded for being tardy to class.

Kimberly Leach never picked up her purse. The school grounds were mostly empty at that point since the second period classes had begun. A witness did place him at the school, leading a girl away from the school building. Bundy claimed he told her that her brother had been hurt and he'd (Bundy) been sent by the family to fetch Kimberly to the hospital.

Kimberly Leach was not the first victim he abducted from school grounds during a school event. He abducted Debra Kent of Bountiful, Utah from the school grounds, perhaps from inside the school, while she attended a school play in the evening with her parents. A teacher who was involved with the play did place Bundy within the school building. She left her parents at the play to go pick her younger brother up at a nearby skating rink but never arrived.

It is thought that at some point after Debra Kent left her parents inside the school Bundy approached her and used some pretext to get her to go over to his car. Witnesses said they heard two piercing screams and the police found a handcuff key in the parking lot.

Bundy also confessed to grabbing Lynnette Culver from a school playgrounds but it was after school hours.
 
Goodness, this is an interesting Thread with more case examples than I would have thought. While, it is "rare" for a child to be taken from inside a school (by relative or stranger) - it does and has happened - seems from what we know it happened with Kyron.
One poster pointed to the fact that perps/SOs go to places and engage in activities that put them near kids (camps, scouts, church groups, theme parks, schools). This is common as it gets the fox into the hen house - so to speak. At schools, could be in the role of a teacher, coach, groundskeeper, repairman, vendor, etc.) I am not implying that any of the roles in my list apply in Kyron's case..... but it could.
I just sure would like to know whether LE has something solid on TH in K's going missing or not. Do they have hard evidence? Or did they choose to take that path from jump start and push aside other possibilities? One thing for sure.... this case has more twists and turns than a platter of spagetti.

Thanks everyone for looking up these cases in this thread.
 
greenpalm said:
I just want to say, that although I appreciate all the facts and cases you have pointed out, and I appreciate everything Dr. Phil had to say. It's really important to me to make an ENORMOUS distinction here. When I say that school abductions are rare. I am NOT talking about the Somer Thompsons, or the "typical teenage girl on her way to or from school." What makes Kyron's case unique is that, if TH's story is true, Kyron was taken from INSIDE the building. It's completely different from a perp with a vehicle out on the street and a walking child on the sidewalk.
Click to expand...

Well, to be honest, we don't actually know where he was taken from, exactly, only that it happened while he was at school.

I mean, he could've gone outside to swing on the swingset, and been taken there. He could've been asked to help someone bring something into/out of school (as has happened before...and more on that in a mo'). He might've been "attacked and taken" while in the bathroom...we just don't know if it was from inside the school, or outside in the parking lot, or from the playground.

We honestly don't know.

We do know, however, that Kyron had been told and "was being worked with" to follow teachers and adults directions. What if someone, who was an adult, gave Kyron some directions...and he followed them thinking he was being "good" and didn't realize this person was a stranger?

Here's a plausible situation which accounts for some of the more difficult aspects of the case.

Kyron waves to TH, and says "see ya, Mom." Walks down the hallway, to his classroom. Goes into a group so he can "tour" the science fair. He's going along, looking at things, and realizes he has to pee. Asks teacher for permission, goes to the bathroom, and meets the perp there.

The perp says "hey, I was just looking for you. I need a good strong helper right now, to bring something to my car, and your teacher said to get you." Kyron, who has been disciplined in the past for NOT listening to directions from adults and teachers, thinks "wow, I'd better help. Teacher said to, and Mom and Dad will be mad if I don't."

Off Kyron goes to "help" the perp...out to the perp's car, and disappears.

To me, that's about as simple and easy as it gets. Since we don't know where he was taken from, and we do know kids get snatched from inside school (no matter how rare it is...), this could easily be how it happened. And there are cases where just this sort of thing has happened...

Just my thoughts on kidnapping from schools. It can happen, and does happen, and will happen again; there is no safe place for children any more.

Best-
Herding Cats
 
A 26-year-old Austin school teacher was charged with sexual assault on two four-year-old girls, MyFoxAustin.com reported Tuesday.

Police called Gerald Laneaux a pedophile and a predator after he was accused of two separate attacks on young girls.

One attack allegedly took place at a Pflugerville preschool where Laneaux was working, and another was in his car.

The mother of the victim who was allegedly attacked in Laneaux's car said she was distraught because she had trusted the young teacher.

She said: "My daughter came to me and told me that she was hurting. I was shaking but was trying my best to keep it under control because she's four and I didn't want to scare her and I wanted her to tell me exactly what happened. When I was talking to her, I was very calm but inside I was shaking and my heart was racing."

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/07/13/texas-teacher-charged-sexual-assault-year-old-girls/
 
Bodhi said:
I will never forget the murders of the Ernest and Alice Brendel and their 8-year-old daughter Emily in Barrington, Rhode Island by in 1991.

Christopher Hightower first killed Ernest at the Brendel's home. Then he called Emily's school, identified himself as Ernest, and said Emily was to walk home from school. The principal called the Brendel home to confirm, but there was no answer. So the principal sent Emily to the after-school program at the YMCA as usual.

Hightower went to the school to dismiss Emily. The principal refused because he wasn't listed on her records as an alternate pick up person that year. (He had been in previous years.)

Hightower drove to the YMCA and told the director of the afer-school program that he was there to pick up Emily. The program director did not release her because she didn't have any instructions from the parents to do so.

Half an hour later, Hightower called the YMCA, said he was Ernest Brendel, and told them he was giving Christopher Hightower permission to pick up Emily. He said he'd give his friend Hightower his driver's license as identification.

Hightower returned to the Y with Ernest's license. Emily was allowed to go with him. He buried her alive. He then killed her mother when she came home from work.

I lived nearby at the time and had young nieces and nephews. This case has stayed with me, almost 20 years later.

It just shows that even when schools and childcare programs have systems in place to prevent abduction, and the system is followed rigorously, a determined, persistent, sinister person can find a way around it.
Click to expand...

True, but having to go through all those hoops would most likely have deterred a stranger and Emily might have ended up alive, even if her parents did not. (obviously Hightower was not a stranger and had some very bizarre reason for what he did) That was a very impressive school and YMCA!
 
gliving said:
http://www.campussafetymagazine.com...ost/Story/2010/07/Criminals-Can-Be-Quick.aspx

A colleague just sent me information on an appellate ruling relating to a civil action against a Nebraska school district. According to court documents, a man entered a school without signing in and was spoken to by school employees before he molested a young boy in a school restroom.

Though the attacker was quickly reported as a suspicious person by a staff member and actions were taken, the man was still able to locate and molest an unsupervised child during his short visit to the school.


http://www.campussafetymagazine.com...-Missing-From-Portland-Elementary-School.aspx

Though it is challenging to provide adequate security for special events at schools, it is possible to implement some relatively simple strategies to make them safer. It is not uncommon for elementary students to leave school undetected during the school day, and perpetrators of student abductions have previously exploited peak times of visitor traffic to abduct students.

I recently simulated the abductions of three students from a North Carolina elementary school during a red team assessment funded by the United States Department of Education. I was able to "abduct" all three students quickly and easily within a few minutes of entering the campus in the morning while parents where dropping their children off.
Click to expand...

Were the students in on this, or did you get them out without them being aware that it was simulated?
 
Ghostwheel said:
Were the students in on this, or did you get them out without them being aware that it was simulated?
Click to expand...

Early on, Grainne Dhu posted a video of a news show (can't recall which one... don't believe it was Dateline) where a man was able to persuade kids to leave with him in spite of their parents' insistence that these children knew 'stranger danger'. It was ridiculously easy, and scary as hell to watch. I hope she catches this post and puts the video up again.

IIRC, this took place in a public park, where kids should be naturally suspicious of strangers and know that there is a potential danger. But in school? Most adults wouldn't consider the possibility someone could harm a child while in school, isn't it reasonable to assume that the child would let their guard down?
 
Calliope said:
Early on, Grainne Dhu posted a video of a news show (can't recall which one... don't believe it was Dateline) where a man was able to persuade kids to leave with him in spite of their parents' insistence that these children knew 'stranger danger'. It was ridiculously easy, and scary as hell to watch. I hope she catches this post and puts the video up again.

IIRC, this took place in a public park, where kids should be naturally suspicious of strangers and know that there is a potential danger. But in school? Most adults wouldn't consider the possibility someone could harm a child while in school, isn't it reasonable to assume that the child would let their guard down?
Click to expand...

It was on Oprah, too, several years ago and scared the hell out of me.
 
My 8yo daughter was just talking yesterday about how a man was able to persuade each girl from her girl scout troop except for one to go with him to his car because he wanted to take a picture of them for the newspaper. The girls were all playing at the park while us moms watched inside a shelter, it was horrifying.
 
angelainwi said:
My 8yo daughter was just talking yesterday about how a man was able to persuade each girl from her girl scout troop except for one to go with him to his car because he wanted to take a picture of them for the newspaper. The girls were all playing at the park while us moms watched inside a shelter, it was horrifying.
Click to expand...

Oh my gosh, that is scary indeed! It seems not only does one need to teach their children how to stay safe, but to be taught about peer pressure as well.
How many would just go along ........because it seems ok with their friend to do so?
 
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