Police issued a warning to Altoona parents Friday after a suspicious person tried to grab a teenager on a trail. The Altoona Police Department said someone tried to grab a 13-year-old boy from a trail at Village Park Thursday between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m.“A juvenile with his friends was skateboarding and an individual came off the trail and came behind him and grabbed him in a bear hug,” Altoona police Sgt. Alyssa Wilson said.Wilson said the boy reported having a rubber-gloved hand placed over his mouth by the stranger.“He did make physical contact with the juvenile, who used his skateboard as a weapon and was able to get away with his friends,” she said. Altoona mother Anita Anderson said she speaks with her three children about stranger danger but feels concerned about letting them out of her sight following Thursday’s incident.“I want them to just go play and now I need adjust that,” Anderson said. “That is a very scary feeling.”Police suggest families use a location app on their phones to keep track of each other’s whereabouts.Wilson said children should keep their eyes off their phones and on their surroundings while playing outside.“It's really important to be aware of your surroundings and report any suspicious activity because it could save someone else's life,” she said.Police would like to know if you have personal security cameras near 12th Avenue and 14th Avenue Northwest on that trail. Altoona police said they do not believe the community is in immediate danger but asks anyone with a security camera northwest of the trail near 12th and 14th avenues to contact authorities.

Police issued a warning to Altoona parents Friday after a suspicious person tried to grab a teenager on a trail.

The Altoona Police Department said someone tried to grab a 13-year-old boy from a trail at Village Park Thursday between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m.


“A juvenile with his friends was skateboarding and an individual came off the trail and came behind him and grabbed him in a bear hug,” Altoona police Sgt. Alyssa Wilson said.

Wilson said the boy reported having a rubber-gloved hand placed over his mouth by the stranger.

“He did make physical contact with the juvenile, who used his skateboard as a weapon and was able to get away with his friends,” she said.

Altoona mother Anita Anderson said she speaks with her three children about stranger danger but feels concerned about letting them out of her sight following Thursday’s incident.

“I want them to just go play and now I need adjust that,” Anderson said. “That is a very scary feeling.”

Police suggest families use a location app on their phones to keep track of each other’s whereabouts.

Wilson said children should keep their eyes off their phones and on their surroundings while playing outside.

“It's really important to be aware of your surroundings and report any suspicious activity because it could save someone else's life,” she said.

Police would like to know if you have personal security cameras near 12th Avenue and 14th Avenue Northwest on that trail.

Altoona police said they do not believe the community is in immediate danger but asks anyone with a security camera northwest of the trail near 12th and 14th avenues to contact authorities.