No charges filed after incident at Cassville daycare

By Kyle Troutman [email protected]

A call to police about a suspicious vehicle at a Cassville daycare has been investigated and determined to be a misunderstanding.

Sgt. Garrett Marshall, with the Cassville Police Department, said police were dispatched recently to Taba’s Tiny Town daycare, housed on the bottom floor of the Pythagoras Lodge No. 383 in Cassville.

Marshall said when police arrived on the scene, witnesses reported a van with two male occupants and possibly a female occupant was parked outside the daycare. One of the males allegedly approached a mother who was picking up her child, and when the mother secured her child in her vehicle and got in herself, the man who approached them “left in a hurry.” Witnesses said the van had been parked at the front of the Lodge, then moved down to the daycare entrance.

The woman followed the van and reported the license plate, allowing Washburn and Barry County authorities to make contact with the van’s owner.

The owner said he was in the van with his step-son, who was interested in joining the Freemasons, who meet at the Lodge. He said they approached the woman to ask if any of the Freemasons were available and were told they were at a daycare, so they got back in the van and left.

“After interviewing him at the Cassville Police Department, I think this was all a misunderstanding,” Marshall said. 

Witnesses who called authorities were concerned the individuals in the van may have been attempting a kidnapping.

Marshall said police watched the area for a few hours, and no further incidents occurred. He also advised the owner of the van to not go back to the daycare.