MANCELONA — Judi Scholl picks her daughter up from school every day.
She waits outside Mancelona Middle School for Jordan, an eighth-grader, then drives her home.
But Thursday differed from their normal routine.
Scholl arrived at the school, but instead of staying in her vehicle, she had to step inside the building to see Jordan.
"It was very busy," she said. "There were a lot of people."
That's because authorities placed the school, along with four others in the area, on lockdown Thursday afternoon in an incident that led to a Kalkaska man's arrest.
Mancelona Elementary, Middle and High schools were placed on lockdown around 12:30 p.m. Thursday after Antrim County sheriff's deputies fielded a complaint about a man who threatened to kill his three children, one of whom attended Mancelona Elementary.
The man, 30, told his ex-wife he'd kill their children if he couldn't see her, Antrim County Sheriff Dan Bean said. All three Mancelona schools were locked because they are in close proximity.
"It's all about the safety of the kids," Bean said.
No students, faculty or staff were harmed, he said.
The suspect was arrested about 4:45 p.m. near the Antrim and Kalkaska county line, Bean said.
The former couple's other two children attended Kalkaska Middle and Rapid City Elementary schools, Bean said. Those schools also were placed on lockdown as a precautionary measure, Kalkaska Public Schools Superintendent Lee Sandy said.
Authorities continue to investigate.
