Suspicious vehicle incidents near Heritage Elementary continues to be investigated by RCMP

The Prince George RCMP continues to search for clues following a pair of suspicious vehicle incidents taking place near Heritage Elementary School over the past week.

Both reports identify a white truck driven by a man described between 20-30 years of age with short hair and a beard.

The pair of incidents took place on Monday and on February 19th where the potential suspect either followed a student for several blocks after school or asked them to get into his vehicle.

Cpl. Carmen Kiener recently spoke with My PG Now.

“We are conducting an investigation and we are being pretty thorough in following of all our leads, trying our best to see who is responsible. In a situation like this, we do look for the public’s assistance in identifying who might be responsible.”

Kiener encourages anyone living in that area to look for surveillance footage to see if they spotted the vehicle in question.

She further explains on what parents and students within Heritage Elementary can do to keep themselves safe.

“Having safety word, so if somebody approaches a child and if the child has that special safety word and that person doesn’t know what it is then it’s a pretty good indicator they shouldn’t be going anywhere with that person.”

School District 57 Superintendent  Marilyn Marquis-Forster also spoke with My PG Now who had this response when asked if a heavier police presence in the area would be the next course of action.

“We have ongoing conversations with our RCMP and they are really responsive to us. We have a wonderful service in our schools here and so, the determination on whether or not additional police presence is necessary is something the police would know best about and would leave to them.”

Marquis-Forster further explains how students should best approach these incidents going forward whether it be in the vicinity of Heritage Elementary or somewhere else.

“Generally, we ask people to air on the side of caution so if something happens and you’re concerned about it, talk to your principal or vice principal, your teacher and then they’ll make some determinations on the appropriate next step.”

Cpl. Kiener adds police are doing patrols to find out who is responsible and remain in constant communication with the school as well as the district.