La Quinta schools were placed on lockdown because of search for child

Two La Quinta schools briefly went on lockdown Friday afternoon while the Riverside County Sheriff's Department searched for a missing child.

La Quinta Middle School and Truman Elementary went onto a "modified lockdown," Desert Sands Unified spokesperson Mary Perry said in an email at 2:41 p.m. A modified lockout means no one can come "in or out of the campus, but campus activities go on as scheduled," Perry explained.

However, Perry said local law enforcement gave the "all clear" for students to be dismissed to their families at 2:45 p.m., and students were gradually dismissed.

The sheriff's department released a statement Friday night explaining that school administrators placed the schools in lockdown while police were looking for a missing child. That search, which also involved the use of a helicopter, led them to a Boys and Girls Club that is located adjacent to the two schools.

"Based on the circumstances and in an abundance of caution, school administration placed two adjacent public schools on lockdown," the statement said. "There were no threats to the schools, students, or staff at that time."

The statement did not say if the child was found or provide specifics about why they were searching for the child.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Search for child led to lockdown of two La Quinta schools