Greenville Independent School District Superintendent Don Jefferies says a reported attempted abduction at Greenville Middle School is a case of mistaken identity.
Thursday morning, the district alerted parents and the media to a man who offered a girl a ride home at about 12:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Jefferies said man was waiting on Texas Street in front of Greenville Middle School as if he were waiting on a child. Jefferies said the man drove toward the student in the parking lot, lowered his window and offered a ride. The girl refused the ride, and just as that was happening, her aunt approached and the man sped off, Jefferies said.
School resource officers caught the truck on video and tracked down the driver. Now, Jefferies said the man was a friend of the family and was legitimately offering the child a ride home.
The district sent a letter to parents Thursday alerting them to the incident, before it was known to be a family friend, asking them to remind their children not to engage in conversation with strangers and to certainly not take any rides offered to them by people they don't know. While this was a case of mistaken identity, it underscores the effort the district is taking to protect students.
"Any time you have a report like this we have to respond and notify parents. You have to constantly be vigilant,” Jefferies said.
The district is on edge after the apparent abduction and death of student Alicia Moore, whose body was found Tuesday inside a trunk of some sort along Farm-to-Market Road 47.
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Moore was reported missing by her family Friday night after she didn't return home from school. Video from on onboard camera shows Moore getting off the school bus just a block from her home.
What happened to Moore after she got off of the bus remains a mystery.
Grief counselors are at Moore's school helping classmates cope with the loss. Students plan to wear purple on Friday in her honor.
NBC 5's Kendra Lyn and Christina Miralla contributed to this report.
