Police search for "person of interest" who approached elementary school girl
WHITPAIN TWP. Pa. (FOX 29) - Police are trying to find a "person of interest" who approached an elementary school girl in Whitpain Township.
"You just scream like crazy and you run like crazy," said Cassie Rafferty about what tells her 5-year-old son to do if a stranger approach him. It happened to an elementary school girl who lives on her street in Blue Bell. She and her husband recently moved into the neighborhood with their three sons.
The little girl is close to her son's age. Rafferty found out about it when police came knocking on her door.
"They were just looking for if we had any cameras outside of our house for any footage that might be helpful," she said.
Whitpain Township police posted about what happened on its Facebook page. It was around 3:45 p.m. Wednesday of last week. Police say a man in a dark green car tried to talk to a little girl who had just gotten off the school bus at the intersection of Sunset Avenue and Midway Lane.
"It's concerning. It's really unusual for this neighborhood," said Steve Ajemian. He has three children who are in school.
"Kids typically walk together or there's somebody waiting for them to pick up the child," he said. But neighbors say the little girl had gotten off at her bus stop alone when the man approached her.
Ajemian says he's just glad she knew what to do.
"Kudos to the parents for this girl. She clearly identified that something was wrong. She didn't approach the car which it reinforces how important it is for parents to make sure they're talking to their kids," he said.
Police aren't saying exactly what the man said to the little girl. Still, neighbors are extremely concerned
"Whitpain's done a great job of policing the area but it's concerning when an older gentleman comes up and approaches a little girl," said Bob Kyle.
Police say the man was driving a dark green 4-door, possibly a hatchback. The car had a Pokemon Squirtle stuffed character hanging from the rear view mirror and the car had several magnets on the back.
Right now, police are calling the m an a person of interest.