Police release sketch after two reported lurings in Federal Way

FEDERAL WAY -- Juli Goodrich lives across the street from Brigadoon Elementary School. She saw police in the area Sunday, but didn’t realize it was because there were reports of a man trying to lure children.

“That’s terrifying and awful and creepy and gross,” she said Monday. “Not what I would expect from my community.”

Federal way police interviewed 8-year old Neveah on Sunday. She said she encountered a strange man Saturday evening.

"I heard a guy who said do you want some candy? And I screamed no and I ran down the hill and I tripped," the girl said.

Police drew up a sketch of the man she described: Hispanic, between 30-50 years old, wearing a ball cap and a red bandana. She says he tried to grab her when she fell, but she fought back and got loose.

"I started screaming. I started to scratch and bite and then he let go,” she siad.

Sunday night, a 7-year-old boy told police that he, too, had been approached on the playground.

“We’re still working through his statements, trying to get more finite details from him,” said Cathy Schrock, the public information officer for the Federal Way Police Department. “We need to determine for sure if these are related.

Police say both children are OK, but these incidents are a reminder that parents need to talk to their kids about being safe, even when they’re in their own neighborhood.

“The buddy system, we’ve talked about it since kindergarten,” Schrock said. “Don’t go out without a buddy. At 7 or 8 years old, you need to have that second person with you.”

Police are working with the school, trying to see if there’s any surveillance video that may have captured the incidents this weekend. They’re also checking the sketch of the suspect to see if it matches any registered sex offenders that live in the area.