Parents in Ikast launch patrol group after child lured by masked man

Parents in Ikast, Denmark, are forming a volunteer patrol group to monitor paths and roads as children travel to and from after-school activities, following an incident in which a 10-year-old boy was approached by a masked man in a white van while cycling to scouts.

Nanna Brandt Mathiasen, a mother of five in Ikast, initiated the effort. She said the group aims to increase visibility to deter threats and reassure children.

“Many parents already wait at sports halls or fields during practices,” Mathiasen said. “My idea is that they can instead walk around the surrounding areas to keep an eye on things.”

She stressed the group will not make citizen’s arrests or target white vans specifically. “I’m not out to start a witch hunt against white vans,” she said. “We just want to show that we won’t accept children feeling unsafe outside.”

The incident involved a colleague’s son, prompting Mathiasen to restrict her own children, aged six and eight, from walking alone to a nearby playground—a routine they previously followed.

She created a Facebook group, “Forældre Vagtværn Ikast,” which gained over 100 members in days. A meeting to formalize the patrol is planned for this weekend.

Susanne Kiel Nielsen, a police superintendent with Midt- og Vestjyllands Politi, called the community effort positive. “It’s good that a local community takes responsibility for restoring a sense of safety,” she said.

Police, who are investigating the incident, have no decisive leads but are conducting daily patrols in the area, Nielsen added.