ST. GEORGE – A student walking home from an elementary school in St. George Thursday afternoon encountered two suspicious vehicles; one of the drivers allegedly made attempts to get the boy in her vehicle. However, police clarified Tuesday afternoon that the incident was not an attempted kidnapping.

The St. George Police Department was contacted Friday regarding the suspicious incident that occurred while a fourth-grade student was on his way home from East Elementary School, the St. George Police Department said in a media statement issued Tuesday evening.

Tracy Mathis said her 9-year-old son was riding his scooter on the sidewalk when he was approached by one of two drivers.

“He said they pulled up to the side of him and the woman in a maroon van rolled down her window and offered him a ride home,” Mathis said. “He told them, no thank you and he was fine and started on his way again,” she said. “He said they continued to follow him and got ahead of him and stopped and waited for him. He said the woman in the van told him that it was ‘no big deal’ and she could throw his scooter in the back of her van and take him home. He said that he told her ‘no’ again.”

One of the vehicles was described as a black sports car with three red racing stripes on the hood, a gold eagle on the antenna and black wheels that had red around the rims, according to the Police Department. The black car was reportedly occupied by what appeared to be a Hispanic male in his early- to mid-20s.

The second vehicle was described as a maroon minivan with dents on the driver’s side, police said, and was driven by a Hispanic female who also appeared to be in her mid-20s.

“My son said that they seemed to be together,” Mathis said, “because he was following the van and stopped when she did.”

Mathis said after the woman approached her son a second time, he became scared and went back to the elementary school because it was closer than their home.

“He ran inside the school doors because they were still open and waited inside for about 10 minutes,” Mathis said. “He said he thought they were gone so he got back on his scooter and saw that they were parked outside the school. He rode home as fast as he could and said that they followed him until he reached his house and went inside. He said after that, they drove off.”

The Police Department issued the following statement Tuesday afternoon regarding the incident:

The St. George Police Department has learned that this incident has been referred to as an ‘attempted kidnapping.’ This is not the case, at this time the Police Department is classifying this as a suspicious incident. There was at no time an ‘attempted kidnapping.’

Police said the incident is a good reminder for students, parents and teachers to be vigilant in looking for suspicious activity.

Anyone with information about the suspicious vehicles or any other suspicious activity in the area is asked to contact the St. George Police Department at 435-627-4300.

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