Highline School District warns parents about man repeatedly asking student to get inside car

BURIEN -- The Highline School District warned parents to be on the lookout for a stranger who allegedly approached a young girl asking to give her a free ride.

The incident happened at South 160th Street and Des Moines Memorial Drive on Monday morning.

The district said the female student was walking to school when a stranger repeatedly offered to give her a ride.

She wasn’t hurt and she got away, but so did the suspect. 




The young girl was walking to Sylvester Elementary when the stranger stopped and asked her to get inside his car.

“The student was asked repeatedly if she’d like a ride,” said district spokeswoman Catherine Carbone Rogers. “She declined and did not go with the guy, and she’s safe.”

Kenny Pham lives next door to where it happened.

“I live here for 12 years and I don’t even know on Monday that something happened in my own neighborhood,” he said.

Pham said he sees many kids walking alone in the mornings and afternoons, now he plans to keep a close eye on anyone that looks suspicious.

“The safety of our children is the most important issue we should be concerned about,” said Pham. “It doesn’t matter if it’s your kid or my kid.”

The district said the suspect is a black man who is about 30 years old.  He’s described as balding and having facial hair. He was last seen driving a white, four-door car with tinted windows.

The district wants parents to talk to their kids about staying safe while walking to school.

“When something like this happens it’s a perfect opportunity for parents to talk through safe walking procedures,” said Carbone Rogers. “We always recommend when at all possible to walk with someone. If they see anything that makes them uncomfortable, that they get away.”

The district said they alerted their security officers and now Burien police and the King County Sheriff’s Office are looking into the incident, too.