The principal of Van Jr./Sr. High School told CVN this week that allegations from an area parent in connection with the disappearance of her daughter were incorrect.

In last-week’s edition of the Coal Valley News, the mother of then missing Karissa Lambert alleged that the actions of Principal Catherine Moore may have prolonged the absence of her daughter.

Tammy Lambert told CVN that the principal “told her daughter that state troopers were coming to pick her up” on January 4. Lambert claimed that soon after this conversation took place, her daughter fled the school, and wasn’t see for several more days. The teen was discovered sleeping in West Madison mobile home early last week.

Moore told CVN Friday that the circumstances of her conversation with the child were substantially different than Lambert’s.

She said that early in the hours of Jan 4, Cpl. Joyce, of the Madison detachment of the West Virginia State Police left a message on the answering machine at Van High, asking whether Karisa Lambert was in school on that date. “My office received the message at 7:30 that morning, and when I came in from a meeting at the Boone County BOE, I immediately checked into whether Karissa was in school that day,” Moore said.

“We called the state police office immediately and informed a secretary that she was indeed in school, and the person in the office said they would inform the trooper right away. At 3:15 I called Karissa into the office and informed her that her mother had obtained a runaway warrant on her and she should go home that day.”

Moore said the girl understood the message and said she would go home on the bus. She again disappeared. The principal said she never heard from the state police again.

“I can’t keep students from leaving, even if I wanted to,” Moore said. “I’m not a police officer, therefore, I don’t have the power to detain them. If a student leaves, we can’t stop them. If they walk out the door and don’t return, the school immediately informs their parents.”

Last week’s article in the CVN has caused some alarm with Van area residents, one of whom posted a message at a local internet message board, expressing her alarm at the situation and pressing for answers. Moore said she understood the woman’s alarm, but wanted the public to know Van High staff and administrators’ first priority is the protection and safety of students. “We wouldn’t do anything like what the woman said we did,” Moore noted. “My staff and I are trying our best to make sure Van has the best atmosphere for safe instruction that is humanly possible.”

She noted new changes in discipline and improvements in security. “This school is more secure than it has ever been,” Moore said. “We have numerous security cameras up all over the school, and a new system where any visitors to the school must press a button which buzzes the office. An attendant then asks the visitor what their business in the school is, and then decides whether or not to admit them.” She said Superintendent Steve Pauley had received a homeland security grant for the money, in response to concerns about school shootings across the nation.

“I’m proud of the progress Van High has made,” Moore said. “Our school is a center for learning in the Van area, and I want everyone in the community to be proud of it too.”