It's always concerning to hear about an abduction or an attempted abduction in your neighborhood. I live near-by and have an 11-year-old daughter.

I think that checking the registered sex offenders list is valuable advice. I have done this about twice a year since my daughter was 6. You can use this site http://www.wvstatepolice.com/sexoff/mainsearch_r06.cfm

It even allows you to check if an email or username listed on the internet belongs to a registered sex offender. Sadly, this is a very valuable tool these days.