St. Joseph Police investigate attempted abduction of student crossing guard

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. - Police in St. Joseph are investigating a possible attempted abduction.

A 10-year-old student crossing guard told police a man riding in a pickup truck told him to get in the vehicle while the boy was standing on the corner of S. 29th and Duncan streets, on the northwest corner of Parkway Elementary School, Tuesday morning.

The boy grabbed another student so he wouldn’t be alone and walked toward the school, St. Joseph Police Commander Jim Connors said in a statement.

A total of three people were in the truck, the boy told police.

The boy described the driver as a woman in her 30s with straight black shoulder-length hair.

The front-seat passenger, who is the one the boy said told him to get in the truck, was in his 40s with gray hair in a buzz cut, sunglasses and a goatee, the boy said.

A third passenger in the truck was a man with short black hair and sunglasses.

The boy described the truck as a newer brown quad-cab pickup, possibly a Chevrolet, with a Missouri license plate beginning with the characters A9.

Another crossing guard reported seeing the same truck around the school at about 4:30 p.m. Monday afternoon, though Connors said the truck’s occupants did not stop or say anything to any children at that time.

If you know anything about what happened, you are urged to call the St. Joseph Police TIPS Hotline at (816) 238-TIPS.