'Suspicious Driver' Was Woman Who Wanted To Help Cold Student

GREENFIELD, WI — Police in Greenfield say a report of a suspicious person who tried enticing a Maple Grove elementary school student into their car turned out to be a false alarm — but praised the student for doing the right thing.

Greenfield police originally stepped up their presence outside the school, standing guard and monitoring the area around Maple Grove School before and after school following a report that a stranger tried picking up a student on their walk to school Wednesday morning in Greenfield.

According to Greenfield School District officials a Maple Grove Elementary School student was approached by a woman on their way to school. The weather was around zero degrees that morning. Police say the student was walking to school on W. Cold Spring Road when a car approached the student and offered them a ride to school.

Police say the student refused the ride, and the driver encouraged the student to get into the car. According to police, the student then ran to school the rest of the way, and the driver of the car did not follow them.

As it turned out, the suspicious person was merely a woman who wanted to help a child who was braving the cold just to get to school.

“While we appreciate her good intentions, we must also remain vigilant to the realities of the dangers that our children can encounter,” Greenfield Police said Thursday in a social media post. “The child, in this case, did exactly what she was supposed to do and we applaud her for it.”