Cedar Rapids school leaders get message out on suspicious van

Tammy Prohaska usually does not have to worry about her three youngest children as they walk home from school.

Yet after an incident on Tuesday evening in her northeast Cedar Rapids neighborhood, Prohaska, a mother of five, is a bit shaken.

"Three of my kids walk home together but, today, I'm going to walk over and meet them," Prohaska said.

On Tuesday at about 6 p.m., Prohaska said her 9-year-old daughter was walking down Wenig Road, between 42nd Street and Glass Road, and heading to a friend's house when a white cargo van pulled up and came to a stop.

Prohaska said her daughter then ran to the friend's house and told an adult at the house.

"I then called the police and I later found out the friend and (her) older sister were approached by the same van," Prohaska said.

On Wednesday morning, Prohaska walked into nearby Pierce Elementary School, where her three youngest children are enrolled, with the purpose to inform other parents about what happened.

Principal Rebecca DeWald said she did not have to look far for a police investigator.

"It just so happened today (Wednesday) was our 'Day with a Police Pal' in the building," said DeWald.

She said the Cedar Rapids Police Department officer spent more than an hour investigating the situation.  She used the information to send out a message to parents of Pierce students, writing "the individuals in the van were white males, both with hoodies on and one had a baseball cap under the hoodie."

Pierce is an elementary school with more than 400 students. Many of the children live within walking or biking distance of the school.

Yet in the hours after DeWald sent the message to the parents, there was one element largely missing from the sidewalks around 42nd Street: Students.  Only a handful were walking home on this warm, sunny day.

"It's time to sit down with them again and remind them about safety," said Brandey Yancey, a parent of a fifth-grader.  "Thank goodness for cell phones."