Apr 18, 2013 3 min read

Albert Gallatin School District in Fayette County was placed into lockdown mode Tuesday after state police alerted the district of a man attempting to lure a 4-year-old boy from his residence. The incident was in the vicinity of A. L. Wilson Elementary School, about 12 miles from Carmichaels Area and Bobtown Elementary schools in Greene County.

A description of the man, given to police by the boy’s mother, was included in a letter sent home with Albert Gallatin students by Superintendent Carl Bezjak. The mother described the man as tall, in his 50s, wearing dirty jeans, boots, a green shirt and black hat driving a white, utility-type van with a sliding side door, a roof rack and no side or rear windows.

She told police she was looking out the window when she saw the man stop his van in front of her home and begin talking to her son. When she went outside, he asked her about a yard sale sign she had posted. When she said there was no yard sale that day he commented about her being alone. She said she didn’t say that she was alone, and he got into his van and drove slowly up and down her street.

After he was gone she asked her son what the man had said to him. The boy said the man told him he had a big basement with lots of toys and he wanted him to come and play with him.

This is the second time in less than a month that the district went on alert. On March 28, a letter was sent home with students regarding a man in a light blue van watching children in the Georges Township area as they exited school busses and walked towards their homes. The bus contractor and its drivers were provided a description in both instances.

“It is important for all of us to work together to keep our children safe. Please discuss safety measures with your children and reinforce the precautionary measures necessary to keep them safe,” Bezjak’s letter to parents said.

Cumberland Township police Chief Craig Miller said he is aware of the situation in the Albert Gallatin School District but was never officially informed by law enforcement in Fayette County. State police in Waynesburg said they were unaware of receiving a report of either incident.

Miller said his officers routinely patrol the bus routes in the Carmichaels Area School District. Residents are encouraged to report suspicious activity.

Troopers from the Uniontown barracks are investigating these incidents.