Pocatello moms warn community to keep eyes on children

Nikki Green’s daughter was playing outside Monday when she noticed a man in a van watching her close by. Concerned about him, she went inside to get her mom.

When Green went outside and made eye contact with the man, he drove off. She was relieved nothing happened to her daughter and that she already had talked to her a month prior about how to act in these situations.

“(We talked about it) so that if something ever did happen she was prepared with that information,” Green said. “I am so happy that we did talk to her because it could have turned out so much differently that day.”

Green’s friend, Gina Dietz, wrote about the incident Monday in a public Facebook postin an effort to warn the community to keep a close watch on kids. The post is also meant to encourage having a conversation with your kids about these situations.

The post has since been shared more than 600 times.

“It’s better to be told what a possibility is and know how to deal with a situation before it gets out of hand,” Dietz said.

Dianne Brush with the Pocatello Police Department said these conversations are very needed, especially to build a relationship where your kids can tell you anything.

“Always make sure that you know where your children are. Instill in your children that they do need to tell you where they’re going, who they’re going to be with and when they’re expected back,” Brush said. “Also check on them and make sure they actually are where they say they’re going to go.”

Part of that conversation should include how to identify suspicious behavior not only in person, but online as well.

Police located the man and questioned him. According to Brush, police found the man was not doing anything illegal and appeared to have a legitimate reason to be parked there at the time.