The Union County Sheriff’s Office is investigating what the sheriff calls a “concerning” incident at New Dover Estates.
Union County Sheriff Jamie Patton said that at about 4 p.m. Thursday, a 10-year-old girl was walking home from her school bus stop in the mobile home park in New Dover at 1480 Route 36.
“She paused to allow a car to go through the intersection,” Patton said. “Instead, the car stopped to speak to her at the intersection.”
He said the road was wet and had a puddle and the driver asked if she wanted him to drive her over the puddle.
“She said ‘No.’ But the driver persisted,” Patton said. “He said that it wasn’t that far and that he could take her home.”
The sheriff added, the driver “was persistent.”
The girl continued to decline.
Eventually the girl walked away.
“He slowly drove next to her as she was walking away,” Patton said. “The car kind of stayed with her but drove off as she walked to her house.”
The girl described the driver as “very tanned.” She said he had a tattoo on his face and another on the inside of his right arm.
Patton said the vehicle is described as a black, Honda CR-X. He said there is “a pretty distinct” decal on the car. He said the decal is orange with a tribal design and a skull.
He said the girl was not able to give an age for the man or the vehicle.
Patton said investigators are trying to locate the driver.
“Hopefully between their investigative skills and the Flock cameras and the state system, we can get it narrowed down to an owner. We are digging into it,” Patton said.
He said it is unclear what the driver’s intent was.
“We just don’t know at this point,” Patton said. “We are trying to rule out whether this was a guy, trying to be kind and maybe he was a little too helpful for the girl to be comfortable, or was this something more, something more dangerous where he had some bad intentions.”
Patton added, “we hope it’s the first, but we need to figure this out.”
Patton said the girl “did the right things.”
“She didn’t get in the car. She didn’t approach the car. She went home. She told an adult,” Patton said.
He said that regardless of this man’s intent, the situation underscores the need for parents to talk to their children.
“Kids see strangers every day in stores, in the park, and in their neighborhoods. Most of these strangers are nice, normal people, but a few may not be,” according to information from the National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC), the organization behind McGruff the Crime Dog. “Parents can protect their children from dangerous strangers by teaching them about strangers and suspicious behavior, and by taking a few precautions of their own.”
The NCPC recommends teaching children to recognize “safe strangers.” NCPC information explains safe strangers are people children can ask for help when they need it, citing police officers, firefighters and adults from school.
“When you talk to your children about strangers, explain that no one can tell if strangers are nice or not nice just by looking at them and that they should be careful around all strangers,” according to information from NCPC. “But don’t make it seem like all strangers are bad. If children need help–whether they’re lost, being threatened by a bully, or being followed by a stranger–the safest thing for them to do in many cases is to ask a stranger for help. You can make this easier for them by showing them which strangers are okay to trust.”
The organization stressed that, “perhaps the most important way parents can protect their children is to teach them to be wary of potentially dangerous situations – this will help them when dealing with strangers as well as with known adults who may not have good intentions.”
NCPC listed warning signs of suspicious behavior to share with children including when an adult asks them to disobey their parents or do something without permission, asks them to keep a secret, asks children for help, or makes them feel uncomfortable in any way.
“Also tell your children that an adult should never ask a child for help, and if one does ask for their help, teach them to find a trusted adult right away to tell what happened,” according to NCPC.
The group helps parents teach children the “No, Go, Yell, Tell” method of dealing with strangers.
“If in a dangerous situations, kids should say ‘No,’ run away, yell as loud as they can, and tell a trusted adult what happened right away. Make sure that your children know that it is okay to say no to an adult in a dangerous situation and to yell to keep themselves safe, even if they are indoors,” according to NCPC information.
In addition to teaching children how to recognize and handle dangerous situations and strangers, NCPC recommends parents know where their children are at all times; point out safe places ahead of time so they know where they can be and where to go if there is a problem; teach children to trust their instincts and explain that if they ever feel scared or uncomfortable, they should get away as fast as they can and tell an adult, even if it is an adult they know that made them feel uncomfortable; teach children to be assertive and make sure they know that it’s okay to say “no,” to an adult and to run away from adults in dangerous situations; and encourage their children to play with other children because there is safety in numbers.
Patton added another request for parents. He said that if a child tells a parent about an uncomfortable situation, the parent should contact law enforcement as quickly as possible.
“The quicker we get notified, the quicker we can identify the concern and address it, the better it is and the better the outcome will likely be,” Patton said.