Jermaine Pigee, The Hawk Eye, Burlington, Iowa –
KEOKUK – Police officials have been unable to confirm a complaint earlier this week that a student had been approached by a stranger.
Keokuk Police Chief Dave Hinton said the department was told at 5 p.m. Monday about an incident near the corner of Fulton and Eighth streets.
“A young child reported someone asked her for a ride and asked her if she wanted candy,” Hinton said. “The girl ignored the guy and walked home without further incident. That’s all there was, and we weren’t able to verify any of the information.”
He said if new information becomes available, the incident will be looked at again.
“Just because we were unable to verify it doesn’t mean it didn’t happen,” the chief said.
The Keokuk School District sent an automated telephone call to parents notifying them of the reported incident.
“We just wanted to do our due diligence and inform parents about the situation,” said Tim Hood, superintendent.
A similar incident reportedy happened earlier this month.
On Sept. 12, an unidentified man in his 60s approached a high school girl at 1 p.m. in the 2000 block of Plank Road. He asked the student if she needed a ride and other questions that made her feel uncomfortable.
“We followed up a couple leads on that incident, but they didn’t turn up any information,” Hinton said.
The school was notified of that incident and contacted police, who increased patrol around schools in town.
Students are advised to stay in groups and avoid talking to strangers.
Hinton said the incidents happened about 15 blocks apart from each other.
