MILAM COUNTY, Texas — Milam County authorities are investigating three separate attempted child abductions that happened in the span of three days, prompting an increase in patrols near schools.
The Milam County Sheriff's Office found one attempt was on Tuesday, Feb. 13 at a CEFCO in Thorndale. A separate incident with similar cars happened on the evening of Thursday, Feb. 15.
"We received a couple of calls, one from the Thorndale Police Department," John Helenberg, Special Operations Lieutenant for the Milam County Sheriff's Office, said. "They advised us that they had some suspicious activity of vehicles possibly following students."
The third child abduction attempt was also on Feb. 15, but this time in Milano. Officers described the suspect as a "tan male in a blue pickup truck."
In the Milano case, the driver allegedly told a female student to get in the vehicle. If not, he would force her in. The girl was able to escape.
"She chose to run across the railroad tracks so the person couldn't follow her, so that was a good decision on her part," Helenberg said.
Officers told 6 News activity like this doesn't happen too often in Milam County.
"It's something that we all need to be aware of because it can happen anywhere, whether in a big city or a small town," Helenberg added.
Officers encourage parents to have conversations with their children before it's too late.
"The best thing that can happen out of a situation like this is to take the opportunity to educate your students and educate your children," Helenberg said.
For one parent, Paula Waak, she does everything she can to make sure her daughter is safe.
"I was almost kidnapped myself as a kid," Waak said. "I always told her 'run to the nearest house. Run to an adult, you run to somebody, you make a lot of noise.'"
This series of attempted kidnappings brought back unfortunate memories for Waak.
"When I read the one about the Milano girl, the one where she actually ran to somewhere, that's the first thought that came back," Waak said. "It was the memories of me running away with one of my friends when we were in 6th grade when a guy was driving up behind us. He sped up when we ran and followed us and we just ran through a house. There are boogeymen out there in real life, we have to be able to know what to do in those situations when the monsters come out."
6 News spoke with Thorndale ISD Superintendent Zack Kleypas, who has a message for worried parents.
"The silver lining and the blessing here is that all kids are safe," Kleypas said. "And we've got a great community that works together and in this situation reported something that didn't seem right and potentially kept kids safe."
Parents are urged to educate their children about being aware of their surroundings and to run away or call 9-1-1 if approached by someone they do not know.
Officers are asking the community to alert the authorities of anything or anyone they believe is acting suspicious. Anyone with information about these incidents can call the Sheriff’s Office at 254-697-7033 or call Crime Stoppers at 254-697-8477.
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