Waukee Police Share Safety Lessons in Aftermath of Attempted Abduction

The isn't taking any chances when it comes to what Waukee students know about stranger danger.

In the aftermath of Thursday's , resource officer Mackenzie Sposeto said both the police and school officials are being extremely proactive in educating the district's 7,600-plus students about what to do should a similar incident happen.

Starting Friday morning, the Waukee Police Department's school resource teams will be out at assemblies at three area elementary schools - , and - to speak to students about general safety and, of course, stranger danger.

"It will all be age appropriate," Sposeto said. "We'll focus on stranger danger, using our words and how to handle the situation should they be be approached by someone they don't know."

The Attempted Abduction

The assemblies follow a day of uncertainty for many parents with children in the Waukee schools after an attempted abduction at a Maple Grove bus stop in West Des Moines.

Sposeto said the incident was reported by a fifth-grader at Maple Grove Elementary shortly after 9 a.m. The student was waiting for her bus in the 3300 block of Ashworth Road when a van pulled into the driveway of her home. The girl reportedly turned and ran toward her house when a man stepped out of the vehicle and told her to get in.

The girl was able to get on the bus and ride to school, where she reported the incident to her teacher.

The driver, according to the victim, got out of a "deep purple-colored van with three black stripes on the side and tinted windows." He was described as a black man, about 30 years old wearing black shoes, black pants, a long gold trench coat, a black hat and black sunglasses with red rims.

Cynics are questioning the validity of the victim's claim, suggesting that the details sound far-fetched. One commenter on an on Patch wrote, "Going out on a limb here and say that this was more than likely a tall tale."

Sposeto said there's no room to pass judgment in a situation like this when you're dealing with the safety of a child.

"We take it for what it's worth until something leads us to believe otherwise," she said of the report. "It's frustrating. What's most important is that we have all the information out there, all of central Iowa is out there looking for this guy and we're all aware of it. We're not messing around. Let's not focus on the victim here."

Noreen Gosch, mother of Johnny Gosch, a West Des Moines paperboy who went missing on Sept. 5, 1982, had harsh words for the critics in the case.

"The number of abduction attempts that have been taking place in our area in the past few weeks is outrageous," . "This is a message and it means something -- Iowa has a kidnapping problem. People need to be very careful concerning the safety of their children. No parent would want to walk in my shoes for 30 years, since the kidnapping of my son Johnny on Sept. 5th, 1982, while he was delivering newspapers."

The Day After

Sposeto said Waukee police and Waukee school officials will be on high alert Thursday as students start their third day back to school in the Waukee district. She said two officers will be on patrol, monitoring bus stops and other areas around the schools, while three other officers will be in the schools talking to students, teachers and staff members about what to do in the event something like this should occur again.

"Sometimes people think we're just doing a job, that we don't care," Sposeto said of law enforcement. "I wouldn't do this if I didn't care, if I wasn't a parent of three kids, if this wasn't my passion. I want every single kid in the schools here to be safe."