DRAPER, Utah — The Draper Police Department is warning the public of stranger danger after a middle school girl was approached by strangers and urged to get in their car.

Police are investigating the incident, which was reported Tuesday evening, of a Draper Park Middle School student who was approached as she was walking home from school by strangers in a car.

The strangers claimed to have been sent by her mother to pick her up. After the student stated she would call her mother to confirm, the car drove off.

A statement from police states,

“Draper Police Detectives are working on determining if more details about the suspects and the vehicle can be found in order to share specific information with the public. If that can be determined, we will provide an update with those details.

This incident is the first that has been reported directly to the police department but there have been other situations recently related to suspicious interactions between strangers and children that have come to the department’s attention due to community discussion on social media. We ask everyone with firsthand knowledge of incidents to report directly to the police department, as was done in this case, rather than post suspicions or experiences online.”

According to police, the concerns have been coming up frequently enough that they “feel it important to remind parents to have conservations with youth about being approached by strangers and how to respond.”

Here are some tips to help students stay safe:

• Don’t go anywhere with someone you don’t know. Choose a code word between parents and children that is only known to them to verify the information.
• Don’t take anything from strangers.
• Trust your instincts, if you feel you are being followed or something is not right, seek help immediately.
• Use the buddy system and avoid walking anywhere alone.

Any immediately threatening situations should be reported by calling 911. Observations of suspicious activity can be reported to non-emergency dispatch at 801-840-4000.