A 14-year-old Washington boy who was participating in a cross-country event near Eagle Island State Park Saturday and was running alone says a man in a red pickup truck offered to give him a ride back to the meet but instead drove away from the park when the boy got inside.
The boy told deputies the man told him to shut up when he asked why they were driving away from the park — and moments later reached in the back seat, grabbed the teen’s cell phone, and threw it out the window on Chinden Boulevard near the Linder Road intersection.
The boy eventually jumped out of the truck when it turned into the Banbury subdivision and ran away.
The boy described the truck as being newer model, full-size four-door red pickup, either a Ford or Dodge, with a metal tool box and silver running boards. The male adult driver was wearing a red hooded sweatshirt. The boy said the driver was between 30-to-40 years old, had close-cropped hair, and a scruffy beard.
The incident occurred around 3:30 p.m. Saturday. The boy told detectives had finished his cross-country event and was doing a cool-down run by himself on Hatchery Road when the driver of the red pickup pulled up and offered him a ride back to the meet.
It looks like the driver of the truck went south on Linder, away from the park, turned east on Chinden, and then drove short distance before turning into the Banbury neighborhood before Eagle Road.
The boy said he was in the back seat of the double-cab truck and was able to unlock the door and jump out as the truck was only going about 15 mph on the icy roads.
The boy said he ran around the neighborhood before seeing a resident standing outside their home on Stafford Drive. He told them what happened and asked to use a phone.
The boy was reunited with a parent at the meet a short time later.
The boy said the driver did not say much other than to tell him to shut up. Deputies are still looking for the boy’s phone.
Anyone with information on what happened should call Ada County Dispatch at 377-6790.