Student reports attempted luring in Bellevue



BELLEVUE -- A student reported an attempted luring in Bellevue Monday morning, saying a stranger approached and tried to get students in his car.

Parents are in shock that this could happen in what they thought was a safe neighborhood.

Kareth Hyatt made a point of picking up her son at the bus stop, after she got the email about an attempted luring at NE 10th Street and 92nd Ave NE.

“When I saw that it was my kid's stop, I thought I’m going to get there early,” she says. “I was panicked.”

A student at Chinook Middle School was waiting for the bus this morning, when, he said, a man in a gray car approached and asked if they wanted a ride. The student ran away and wasn’t hurt, but the school district alerted all parents in the area.

“This is a safe neighborhood, you don’t even think that's going to happen,” says Hyatt. “I mean, you have it in the back of your mind when you become a mother, the whole protector thing. It really puts you on edge.”

Alexandra Joseph says what happened is a reminder that crime can happen anywhere.

“I come from England, and I’ve been to a lot of big cities,” she says. “You just never let your guard down, never be complacent. No matter how safe the area is, there's always one bad apple around.”

Even though her son is only five, she’s already started teaching him about strangers and what to do if someone approaches him.

Hyatt is also having those conversations with her children. She says now that they’re older, she is honest about the dangers that are out there.

“If they don't know, if you try to pad it, they're not going to see the seriousness of it. I sort of want them to be afraid.”

She wants them to keep their eyes open on their way to and from school.  She says she’s going to be keeping a closer watch too.

“I’ll be here tomorrow very early. And I will be looking for the car,” she says.

The student told police the man was in a four-door gray sedan, with one red tire rim on the rear driver’s side tire.

If you have seen that car or have any other information that could help in this investigation, you’re asked to call Bellevue police.