Keller police are stepping up patrols around school campuses after a possible attempted abduction Wednesday near Woodland Springs Elementary School — the second kidnapping attempt in the northeastern part of Keller Independent School District in as many weeks.
A student from Woodland Springs Elementary was approached by a man in a red, single-cab Ford pickup at about 4 p.m. Wednesday, Fort Worth police warned parents in an alert issued Wednesday night.
Both schools are in Fort Worth but are zoned in Keller.
Fort Worth police said the man was white, possibly in his thirties, with short brown hair, a medium build and a tattoo on his right bicep that appeared to have small crosses inside circles that wrapped around his arm.
The man's vehicle was parked along the curb near Woodland Springs Drive on Netleaf Lane, according to the student. He was in the driver seat and had the passenger door open for the student to get in.
The student told police that the man said, "You need to come with me so I can take you to your mother, who is in the hospital." The student ran away to safety.
Keller ISD posted the report about Wednesday's attempted abduction on its website, and Keller police have increased patrols around school campuses.
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Parents we talked to in the neighborhoods are very concerned. Sarah Whitton sent out a Facebook invite for a meeting at her home Thursday night.
"It takes a village and luckily for us we are in the Village of Woodland Springs. So why not make sure everybody's children are safe, not just ours," said Whitton.
"These incidents have happened too close to our borders to be ignored, so our officers have increased patrols around Keller's schools to ensure the safety of our children," Police Chief Mark Hafner said in a statement Thursday. "We urge our residents to be vigilant in the coming weeks and to call 911 immediately if they observe anything suspicious in their neighborhoods."
The report of the kidnapping attempt came after an earlier one was reported May 13 near Caprock Elementary School in Fort Worth. That child was reportedly approached by a stranger while walking home from school at Hollow Valley Drive and Timberland Boulevard.
The man's description in the reported abduction attempt near Woodland Springs matches the description Fort Worth police received last week, but the man was seen in a different vehicle in the earlier attempt — a dark blue or black Nissan Titan pickup.
NBC 5's Julie Fine contributed to this report.
