EVERETT — One man asked a girl if she wanted a ride home. Another man demanded two boys get into his truck. Two children playing outside were asked by a stranger if they wanted some candy.
These men, apparently hunting for children since 2005, have never been caught. Someone is now paying closer attention.
Snohomish County sheriff’s detective Larry Cole has created a database to track attempted luring and suspicious circumstances involving children in Snohomish County. He hopes that by having the information at his fingertips, he can help police catch people who are out prowling, looking for opportunities to hurt children.
“We have to do what we can to protect as many kids as we can,” Cole said.
It was an incident in March near Discovery Elementary School in south Everett that sparked the idea. A 10-year-old boy reported seeing a man pull another boy from the street and force him into a van.
Sheriff’s investigators launched an extensive search and looked to Cole and Steve Haley, crime analysis detectives, to quickly provide information about attempted child luring in the area that might help them find the driver of the van.
No parents reported any missing children. The Mukilteo district school was able to account for all its students. The boy who reported the incident was earnest and believable. In the end, after an exhaustive eight-hour search, investigators were unable to confirm an abduction.
It became clear that investigators need information quickly about past luring incidents in their jursidiction and surrounding cities, Cole said.
Sheriff’s detectives investigate two to three luring cases a month during the school year. Reports taper off during the summer months, sheriff’s detective Christopher Leyda said.
Only a few turn out to be false.
“It’s pretty rare kids make up this stuff, especially elementary school-aged kids,” Leyda said.
Attempted luring by strangers is difficult to solve, he said.
Being prepared could mean catching a predator before a child is hurt, Cole said.
The new database contains information about reported luring or suspicious activity, such as a stranger seen taking pictures of children at playgrounds. It details information such as the suspect’s physical description, what vehicle they were driving, how they attempted to lure the child and the age of the victim. It also details cold investigations that might be connected with other attempts.
The database should help investigators identify patterns among incidents, something that should help highlight repeat offenders. It also may assist detectives in developing information on suspects.
So far, Cole has documented about 50 luring incidents in Snohomish County, including its cities and towns. A half-dozen police departments have sent information about their cases. He provides them with the data he has collected. Cole hopes more agencies will take part.
“These guys cross so many jurisdictions,” Cole said. “We have to be able to communicate with each other better.”
The FBI in July requested information about luring and kidnappings in Snohomish County when Zina Linnick was abducted from her Tacoma home. A registered sex offender has been charged with her kidnapping and murder.
Cole was able to send the FBI information from the database quickly.
Time is critical when it comes to a child abductions, Cole said. The database can help save hours researching past cases that might have a sketch of the suspect or vehicle description. The information can be quickly given to the detectives and police scouring the area.
“There’s a very small window of opportunity to find a child until additional crimes against the child are committed,” the detective said. “A lot of this is precautionary. In case something happens or there’s been previous incidents, we need to be able to act immediately.”
It’s important that children and their parents report any attempted luring or suspicious activity to police, Cole said. It’s likely if a person tries it once, they’ll try it again.
The database may be able to help, though. By identifying patterns based on similar descriptions and methods, investigators can plot an offender’s path. If there are several incidents reported in one area, it’s likely the perpetrator lives nearby, Leyda said.
“We’re trying to target a person before he grabs a kid and hurts them,” he said.
Reporter Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463 or hefley@heraldnet.com.
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