The Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Office received information from the Woodland School District that a male subject attempted to lure a 12-year-old student on May 31, leading to the arrest of James Lee Porter, 57, of Woodland.
Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Office deputies contacted the student, who reported that a male subject approached her at her school bus stop on South Cloverdale Road and repeatedly tried to convince her to get in his vehicle, a news release by the sheriff’s office stated.
On June 4, the student alerted her bus driver that she had just seen the male suspect drive past their school bus in a vehicle. Deputies used school bus video to determine that the suspect vehicle was a white Toyota truck with a cargo rack. Deputies located the vehicle June 5 at a residence in the 2200 block of South Cloverdale Road, the release stated.
Deputies contacted the vehicle owner, identified as Porter, the release stated.
Porter allegedly claimed there were two “scary men” nearby who were approaching her, though no one else was seen in the area. Deputies confirmed the student did not know the suspect, and her parents had not given anyone permission to take her in a vehicle, the release stated.
The student identified Porter as the male who had contacted her and confirmed he was driving the identified vehicle when he approached her, according to the police report. Porter was arrested for luring and booked into the Cowlitz County Jail.
The sheriff’s office requests anyone with further information about this or other similar incidents to contact the Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Office at 360-577-3092, regarding case A24-10499.
