ST. MARYS — Students at Mary Lee Clark Elementary School spent part of Thursday under a precautionary lockdown as deputies searched nearby for three people who ran from a stopped vehicle. Officials said there was no sign of a threat directed toward the school.

What happened: A Camden County Sheriff’s Office deputy stopped a vehicle near Colerain Road and St. Marys Road, according to the office. Three of the four people inside ran, while deputies caught one person and continued looking for the other three.

Why the school locked down: Officials placed the elementary school on lockdown because deputies were working nearby. The step was precautionary, meaning it was taken to protect students and staff during the search, not because officials had information about a threat against the campus.

Bus changes: School buses headed to Mary Lee Clark Elementary were temporarily sent to St. Marys Middle School. Parents and others were asked to stay away from the elementary school and not approach the campus until officials cleared the area.

What changed: Officials later lifted the lockdown and said Mary Lee Clark Elementary would return to normal operations for the rest of Thursday. Families could bring students to the school, and students who had been sent to St. Marys Middle School were being taken to Mary Lee Clark Elementary.

The search: The Sheriff’s Office said deputies remained in the area after the lockdown ended. An update from the office, time-stamped 8:15:01 a.m. Thursday, said the three people who ran remained at large.

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B.T. Clark is the Publisher of The Georgia Sun and author of Principles Are Like Pants… You Ought to Have Some. Over two decades in journalism, he has served as Managing Editor of Neighbor Newspapers in metro Atlanta and Digital Director at Times-Journal Inc., earning multiple awards along the way. His work has appeared in newspapers across the state, including The Cherokee Tribune and The Marietta Daily Journal.

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