HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colo. — A parent’s worst nightmare came true after someone allegedly tried to abduct her son from school during recess.
The incident happened around 3 p.m. Thursday at Sand Creek Elementary School and the parents were not notified until almost four hours later.
“What if this was your child? Wouldn’t you want to know immediately what happened?” Elizabeth Leon asked during an interview with FOX31.
Leon was home with her son Thursday night when she said she got a strange phone call from the assistant principal. The school said someone else tried to pick up her fourth-grader during recess.
The individual is described as a white teenage male. He might know the family as he was able to provide the child’s name and description.
He allegedly told school staff he needed to walk the child home for an orthodontist appointment. Leon said the story is completely made up.
“This person tried very hard to get a hold of my son,” Leon said.
The teen was not on the student’s pickup sheet so teachers did not let the student leave with him. Teachers did not tell administrators about it until an hour later.
“The teacher told the office when they got an opportunity at the end of the school day, which was at 4 p.m.,” Leon said.
The assistant principal called her almost three hours after that around 6:45 p.m.
“That time lapse of when that happened and when I was actually notified, I just think it’s unacceptable,” Leon said. “The school failed at recognizing that this was a crime.”
She said she hopes this can be a lesson to other parents to be even more involved with what goes on at school.
“They really need to be on top of what’s going on because you may not be told what’s going on,” Leon said.
Douglas County School District responded with a statement.
“DCSD staff supervise all recesses and we thank them for their visibility and attentiveness. In this particular instance, our staff members immediately noticed a teenager coming onto the playground and quickly handled the situation without further incident. Details regarding the matter were communicated with Sand Creek administrative staff, the student’s parents and law enforcement.
“Any time someone other than a parent wishes to check a student out of school, proper identification and paperwork must be provided and in place. The safety of DCSD students and staff is our top priority.”
The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office is also investigating the incident.
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