Dog walker causes lock out

A man walking his dog early Thursday morning prompted a lockout nearly encompassing the entire school district in Green River.

According to a release from the Green River Police Department, at about 7 a.m. Dec. 3, an employee at Green River High School reported seeing someone walking through the school's parking lot with what they believed to be a rifle slung over their shoulder. The school resource officer, with staff from the school, reviewed security footage and saw a man walk an airedale terrier from the west towards the south side of the school with an object slung over his shoulder.

Officers sent to the area were unable to locate the man and every school, except for Washington Elementary, was placed under lockout.

According to the release, a lockout is a procedure where access to school buildings is limited, but students and faculty are able to carry on with their daily routines.

Officers were later contacted by an unidentified resident who claimed they were the person seen walking their dog in the security footage.

The resident told police officers he often walks in the area and had a walking stick with him that morning. The lockout was lifted at about 9:40 a.m.

Det. Luke Benson with the GRPD said the department had officers, detectives and animal control working on identifying the walker. Animal control was called in an attempt to identify the dog and owner through city records. In total more than a dozen officers were utilized to search for the man, which Benson said spread from school grounds to nearby neighborhoods. Benson also said the man was notified police were searching for him after a relative saw security camera photos posted on social media.