OGDEN, Utah -- Two schools in Ogden were on "lockout" as a precaution after reports of a possible suspect dressed as a clown in the area Monday.
So far, Ogden officers have not been able to confirm a sighting or legitimate threat at Gramercy Elementary or Mount Fort Junior High.
- Orem Police
However, no one was allowed in or out of the schools, as a precaution.
Authorities believe the clown sightings are part of a prank.
A Facebook user with the picture of a clown made threats towards the Ogden schools. The clown said they could see the kids from where they were, but when police searched school grounds they didn't find anyone.
"We do take these things seriously and in this case we don’t find anything that's credible with it," said Lt. Kevin Cottrell with the Ogden Police Department.
Facebook took down the page where the threats were made but that hasn't stopped the investigation.
"It will take a little while -- some of the postings lead us to believe it may be a student or someone of that age at that school or another school in the city," Cottrell said.
The Ogden School District released a statement saying in part:
“...We have sent a message to all of our parents and are working with the OPD on a thorough investigation. We are reminding our students about internet safety and to not accept friend request from unknown individuals.”
"Its a big resource drain on us as well as on the schools and its making a lot of kids afraid, which we just don’t need to do that," Cottrell said.
As the investigation continues Ogden police say they will continue to update their Facebook page to let people know what is going on. Again they do think this is a prank, but they say if you do see anything out of the ordinary -- don’t hesitate to call.
Other police agencies throughout the state took to Facebook stating they had also received calls about clowns but no credible sightings or threats.
Orem officers dispelled rumors of clown sightings near schools in Orem after Facebook posts started concerning parents.
Officers said on Facebook they have not received any credible calls about possible suspects dressed as clowns in the area.
So far, officers have not been able to confirm any suspects dressed as clowns have harmed anyone in Utah over the last few months.
Tooele Police also said the rumors are causing issues in their area as well.
However, officers said they are not currently investigating any cases involving clowns in Tooele.
