New Jersey Police In Search of Man Suspected of Luring Girls In Leonia
New Jersey Police are in the search for a man who allegedly attempted to lure two young girls into his van in the small and quiet town of Leonia.
According to WABC News, investigators accounted two reports of a man in a black SUV following two different girls at separate times. The first victim reported she was walking near Station Parkway a little before 4 pm on Thursday when she noticed a man in a black van was following her. Police stated the 12 year old girl immediately headed in the opposite direction when the man momentarily left his vehicle and began to question her inappropriately.
The second incident occurred the following Saturday, before noon, when a 15 year old girl who was walking around Fort Lee Road and Broad Avenue observed a dark-colored Chevy Tahoe following her. WABC described the man at the time as “aggressively” honking his horn “to get her attention.” The man asked for directions to Overpeck State Park, according CBS News, but when the girl did not answer, the man asked her to get into the vehicle and show him where the park was located. The girl told police that she then ran into a nearby business for help.
The 15 year old girl described the man as a white, thin male with shaggy brown hair up to his ears, a large nose and a scruffy face wearing a gray shirt, at the time. She also told police she was able to get a glimpse of the letter W on the van’s license plate. With the physical descriptions from the girl, police released a sketch of the suspect on Sunday. Police said the Leonia police have sent out an alert across all of New Jersey, and that police officers in marked and unmarked units will be on the hunt for the suspect. Police also advised parents to warn their children not to stop nor approach any strange vehicles and to make sure they are carrying a fully-charged phone at all times, in case of a similar situation.
