UPDATE: Schools hold children late as search for HVL suspect continues

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HIDDEN VALLEY LAKE – South county schools were on the alert and keeping children on school grounds late Thursday as the search for a suspect alleged to have been involved in a break-in and assault on Noble Ranch Road continued.


At least one of two men who allegedly broke into the home early Tuesday morning, and subsequently fled into Hidden Valley Lake, had been caught shortly after 2 p.m. according to a radio report from the scene.


No further information about the captured suspect has so far been released.


However, both he and his alleged accomplice were considered armed and dangerous, according to the Lake County Sheriff's Office. That had led officials earlier in the day to caution residents to stay in their homes with their doors and windows locked.


Middletown Unified School District Superintendent Korby Olson said the district had been communicating with the Lake County Sheriff's Office throughout the day to keep apprised of the situation.


“We decided it would be best to keep the kids in school where it was safe,” he said.


Middle school students were being held, and at Middletown High School the day was extended until 3:30 p.m., Olson said.


Children who lived in Cobb and other communities outside of Middletown were being released first, but children who school officials knew lived in the Greenridge and Stonegate areas of Hidden Valley Lake – where the search was most active – were being held until the district had more information, said Olson.


As the buses began to take children home late Thursday, Olson said bus drivers had been instructed to communicate with any parents they saw waiting along the way to let them know the situation.


E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..


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