As two young girls walked their usual route to Cache la Poudre Elementary School in Laporte on Friday morning, they expected to arrive to school as normal, with nothing out of the ordinary happening. Instead, however, these girls very bravely faced an unexpected, life-threatening and extremely frightening situation.

The two female students, ages eight and ten, were en route walking along County Road 54G when a man approached them, at first trying to talk to them, and then grabbing the 10-year-old's arm. The little girl was able to break free from the man's hold, and both of the girls bolted off to the school. Upon safely arriving, school staff and officials were informed by the students of the incident that had just occurred close by and alerted the police.

The Larimer County Sheriff's deputies responded to the call after receiving the information about the alleged attempted abduction around 8:40 a.m. and located a man in the area who matched the description that was provided by the two girls. Deputies arrested 35-year-old Christopher Clay Webb of Laporte and he was booked into the county jail Friday morning on suspicion of first-degree kidnapping.

It's important for parents to make sure their children are aware of how to recognize and handle dangerous situations, such as this one. Here are some tips for protecting your kids and keeping them safe:

  • Know where your child is at all times and try to have a way to easily communicate with them
  • Show them safe places, that you trust, where they can hang out or play
  • Safety in numbers – encourage them to play with others
  • Teach children to trust their gut–  for most people, if something feels off, it usually is, so let your kids know that if someone is making them feel uncomfortable, they should remove themselves from the situation
  • Show them how to say "no" assertively to a stranger/ rehearse how to respond in a dangerous situation
  • Remind them that predators don't always look scary and it could be someone that they have seen before or might even know, so ALWAYS be alert and aware

 

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