GRANTS PASS, Ore. -- School administrators and police are praising the actions of Allendale Elementary School's office staff for stopping an attempted abduction.

On Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2018, a man walked into the school, and said he was there to pick up 3 young females from class -- two 10-year-olds and an 8-year-old girl.

The school staff checked with the girls' parents and found out that Stout was an acquaintance, but they were not aware of any plans for him to pick up the children.

School staff alerted a school marshal, who then radioed police about a "suspicious situation" at the school. Office staff told Stout they wouldn't release the girls to him. Stout left. 

Soon after, detectives went to work on investigating Stout. Interviewing other people, they identified Stout and discovered a likely location for him. According to GPDPS, the detectives also uncovered evidence that Stout had planned to pick the girls up in order to engage "in sexual contact with at least one of the girls."

The police and the school district's chief financial and operations officer is applauding both the detectives involved, and the school staff.

School principal Jake Musser says it was just about following protocol.

"My office manager and secretary are amazing," Musser said. "I called them my watch dogs."