Deputies investigate attempted abduction

By Jeff Kearns

Santa Clara County Sheriff's deputies are investigating an attempted kidnapping at a Cupertino school. Authorities and school officials are urging parents and children to be on their guard.

A student at Eaton Elementary School on Suisun Drive reported that on March 3, a man wearing a ski mask tried to grab her about 9:30 a.m on the campus.

School administrators sealed off the campus and called 911 as soon as they heard about the alleged abduction.

Eaton Principal Bob Downer sent a notice home with students after the incident, and hosted an open meeting for parents at the school on March 9. Most or all of the 24 schools in the Cupertino Union School District also sent notices home to parents, a district spokesperson said.

Sheriff's department spokesman Sgt. John Hirokawa said the girl told investigators she was walking from the school office to her classroom when she was confronted by a white male in his 20s, who allegedly grabbed her.

The girl told detectives she jerked away and the man told her not to say anything to anyone, then took off running. The girl, whose name officials would not release due to her juvenile status, was the only witness to the incident. "We're investigating it as an attempted kidnapping," Hirokawa said.

The student reported the incident to her teacher, who immediately took the girl to the school office. A school administrator then called 911 while Downer initiated emergency procedures via the school's intercom system. Students and teachers locked themselves inside classrooms and ducked under desks for about 15 or 20 minutes, while deputies sealed off and swept the area. Deputies found no one matching the description, Hirokawa said.

The student, who reported the encounter, described the man as a white male adult in his 20's, 5-foot-5 to 5-foot-8-inches tall, with pale hands, tan skin and blue eyes. He was reportedly wearing a black ski mask, black fleece shirt, black Nike-brand nylon jogging pants, shiny black combat boots and spoke with a deep voice. He also wore a copper chain on his wrist and had an orange cross with the word "god" pinned to his chest.

"I think there was a stranger on campus but I don't know how much of a threat it was," Downer said. "Something happened and we don't know how much of a threat it was, but regardless, we're going to treat it seriously."

The incident brought up a new wrinkle in emergency procedures, Downer said. "We learned an interesting thing--we usually don't give classroom keys to substitute teachers, so they couldn't lock their classrooms. That's something we're going to change."

Hirokawa said the department has stepped up patrols in the area around the school. He added that parents should talk to their children about the usual precautions with dealing with strangers. Namely, he said, parents should tell children to always be aware of their environment and, if they are accosted by a stranger, yell "no" and go as quickly as possible to the nearest parent or teacher.

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