The King County Sheriff’s Office is asking that parents and students in the Maple Hills area east of Renton be alert for a woman and her newer grayish-blue pickup truck.

The Sheriff’s Office and the Issaquah School District issued an alert after the African-American woman in her 40s or 50s offered a ride to a 12-year-old Maywood Middle School student at about 6:45 a.m. Friday morning.

Anyone who sees the woman or the pickup truck, which also has a dark tunnel cover over its bed, call 911, said sheriff’s Deputy Dave Montalvo, who is the school resource officer for Liberty High School. Or he can be reached at 425-837-4835.

This is the first such incident this school year, “thank goodness,” Montalvo said. It happened near Maple Hills Elementary School.

The woman’s motive wasn’t clear, but Montalvo wants residents to be vigilant.

“You just don’t know,” he said. “I would rather err on the side of caution.

The boy was walking to his bus stop when the woman rolled down her window and offered him a ride in the 100 block of 206th Avenue Southeast.

When the boy said no, the woman, who was wearing a green hat, drove away. The boy’s mother drove by a short time later. Montalvo interviewed the mother and her son. The boy’s story was credible, Montalvo said.

Montalvo offered the following safety tips:

• never talk to a stranger;

• never let a stranger get too close, whether the stranger is in a car or walking;

• never tell a stranger any personal information, such as name, age, or address;

• try to walk in pairs with a friend or an adult;

• stick to safe, well-lit paths when walking;

• do not obstruct hearing with iPods or portable music players when walking or waiting outside;

• if a stranger tries to grab you, yell as loudly as you can and run away;

• immediately alert an adult if you are approached by a suspicious person.

Montalvo also suggested that a child right down a license plate number, even on a hand, if no paper is available.