Washington man arrested for allegedly trying to lure child into his truck

A Washington man was arrested for allegedly attempting to lure a child into his white pickup truck. June 6, 2024 (courtesy of Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Office).

PORTLAND, Oregon (COIN) — A 57-year-old Washington man was arrested Wednesday for allegedly attempting to lure a child into his vehicle.

According to the Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Office, Woodland resident James Lee Porter was identified as the owner of a white Toyota pickup truck with a luggage rack that allegedly approached a 12-year-old girl at her school bus stop.

On May 31, according to police reports, the girl told officers that a man repeatedly tried to persuade her to get into the truck near South Cloverdale Road by telling her there were “two scary men nearby” approaching her. However, the student did not see anyone else nearby, nor did she know the man, and her parents never gave her permission to get into another person’s vehicle.

The truck had reportedly passed the school bus, and the student told the bus driver on Tuesday. After that, authorities were able to obtain surveillance video from the school bus that identified the car. It matched a vehicle belonging to Porter and located in the 2200 block of South Cloverdale Road.

Porter was subsequently arrested and taken to the Cowlitz County Jail. He is charged with enticement. The sheriff’s office released a picture of the truck and asked the public to come forward if they have any information about other incidents involving this vehicle.