PELHAM -- A woman dropping off her nephew at an elementary school on Thursday, March 20, triggered a security lockdown and a police presence at three local schools after she went inside to use the bathroom.

When school officials didn’t recognize the 40-year-old woman walking in the school hallways, they called police at 8:05 a.m. and went into lockdown before classes began, police said.

While trying to avoid the sudden police presence because she had been driving with a suspended license, the woman caused a security lockdown of the school when she couldn’t be found.

“She ended up going out one of the side exits and headed to the high school,” Pelham police Lt. Gary Fisher said.

After searching the Pelham Elementary School building, police broadened the lockdown measures to include the nearby middle school and high school campuses before the woman was found at the high school.

Police and school officials called off the lockdown after finding the woman and talking to her. School schedules immediately returned to normal by 9:30 a.m., police said.

During the incident, children just arriving at the elementary school were kept from entering the building and everyone inside was prevented from leaving, Fisher said.

Pelham police received help from Salem police, New Hampshire State Police and the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Department.

Police withheld the identity of the 40-year-old woman because no charges were being filed.

Fisher commended school officials for quickly calling police.

“They acted very accordingly and contacted us appropriately,” Fisher said.