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Columbia Park suspicious man in truck incident was false alarm

Parents across Revelstoke can rest easier after a concerning incident on April 28 involving an unknown man in a truck approaching a child has been sorted out.

Parents across Revelstoke can rest easier after a concerning incident on April 28 involving an unknown man in a truck approaching a child has been sorted out.

On Thursday, April 28, a Columbia Park elementary school student was approached by a man in a truck whom the student did not know. The man opened his door to interact with the child. Sensing danger, the child bolted, then let adults know about the incident.

Columbia Park elementary school principal Ariel McDowell says students were sent home with a note for parents warning about the incident the next day on Friday, April 29.

In a phone call to the Times Review on Saturday, April 30, McDowell says the man in question has been contacted and the incident has been cleared up. McDowell says it was simple case of mistaken identity; the man was picking up another child and mistook the second child for him. The second youngster did the right thing and ran away, but that left no chance to clear the incident up on the spot.

McDowell says there is now no concern related to this specific incident, and asked residents be sure that there is no longer concern about the specific man and truck which were described in the note sent home with students. "It was complete misunderstanding," McDowell said.

New notes to this effect will go home with Columbia Park students on April 30, and all elementary school principals will be notified accordingly.