LAKELAND — A Polk County Sheriff’s Office helicopter and deputies with search dogs were scouring the area around Crystal Lake Middle School and R.E.A.L. Academy on Thursday after a man demanded money from a student outside the middle school two hours before classes started.
The girl had arrived about 7 a.m. with a parent, who works at the middle school, said Carrie Horstman, a spokesperson for the Sheriff’s Office.
“It was not a threat to the school,” Horstman said. However, the man, described only as an adult white male, said things to the girl that prompted an intense response. He left the school grounds on foot before deputies arrived, she said.
The school was not locked down because of the suspect’s direction of travel, and because the incident happened before students arrived for classes, she said.
According to the middle school’s website, the bell schedule is from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. About 900 sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders attend Crystal Lake.
R.E.A.L. Academy, which is located directly behind the middle school campus, serves about 300 fourth-graders through 12th-graders.
Kyle Kennedy, a spokesman for the Polk Public Schools, said the district expects to continue the heavy presence of law enforcement officers on Friday.
He said Crystal Lake used a robocall system to alert Crystal Lake parents about the incident. He did not know if R.E.A.L. Academy sent robocall messages and The Ledger was unable to reach academy officials Thursday afternoon.
According to R.E.A.L. Academy's website, the cafeteria opens for breakfast at 7:30 a.m. and the tardy bell is at 8 a.m.
Anyone who saw anything suspicious that could be related to the early Thursday morning incident is asked to call the Sheriff’s Office at 863-298-6200.
Marilyn Meyer can be reached at marilyn.meyer@theledger.com or 863-802-7558.