The sheriff’s office said they urge parents to remind their kids about “stranger danger” after a stranger in Volo drove a child to school, prompting the child’s parents to think their son was abducted.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office said in a social media post that parents should have the stranger danger conversation with their children after an incident they investigated.
Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched Thursday morning to a residence in the 800 block of Singing Hills Drive in Volo for what was initially believed to be a child abduction.
An investigation showed that a child accidentally let the family dog out before walking to the school bus stop.
The sheriff’s office said a handyman in the area happened to see the large dog running down the street.
The man corralled the dog, got it into his work truck and then saw a child in the area.
The man asked the child if the dog was his and the child said it was, the sheriff’s office said.
The handyman brought the dog back to the child’s house and assisted the child in getting the dog inside.
The man then asked the child where his parents were and the child, who was upset, replied that he missed his school bus, the sheriff’s office said.
The handyman, in an attempt to help the child, gave the child a ride to his school in Wauconda.
When the child’s parents realized their child was not in the house, they checked their camera doorbell and saw the child getting into the unknown man’s truck.
The family immediately called the sheriff’s office.
Sheriff’s deputies and detectives quickly investigated and determined the child was safe at school.
They continued their investigation and learned the handyman was conducting work at a neighbor’s home.
Detectives determined his identity and spoke with the handyman about the situation.
The child was also interviewed by sheriff’s deputies and his account of the events matched the handyman’s.
There are no indications of any criminal wrongdoing, the sheriff’s office said.