A girl walking to Colonial Middle School in Plymouth Township turned down a ride from a stranger in a red sedan on Monday morning, and police are now asking neighbors to dig through their home surveillance footage for any trace of the car. The attempted child luring happened on Traverse Drive near Park Drive between 7:30 and 7:40 a.m., according to investigators.
Plymouth Township Police said they received the report of suspicious activity and attempted child luring on November 2, according to a statement posted by the Plymouth Township Police Department on Crimewatch. Police said the operator of a red sedan stopped and asked the girl if she wanted a ride to school. She declined the offer and kept walking, continuing on to class without further incident, per the department's account.
After the encounter, the driver reportedly left the neighborhood on Park Drive heading toward Belvoir Road, police said. Investigators described the operator as a middle-aged white man, approximately 40 years old, with light or blonde hair and light facial hair. FOX 29 Philadelphia also reported on the investigation following the police account.
Canvass Turns Up Images of the Vehicle
Police said a neighborhood canvass has already developed images of the vehicle of interest, though officers are still asking the public for more. The department is asking residents to check their surveillance cameras for additional photos of the vehicle, particularly footage captured in and around the neighborhood during the 7:30 to 7:40 a.m. window on Monday morning.
Anyone with information, or anyone who spotted the red sedan described by police, is being encouraged to contact the Plymouth Township Police Department at 610-279-1901.
A Separate Case to the South
The Plymouth Township report comes as a separate child-luring investigation unfolds in Delaware County, though the two cases are not known to be connected. Pennsylvania State Police are investigating a possible child luring incident involving a 10-year-old boy who was approached while riding a scooter, according to NBC10 Philadelphia.
In that case, a police report says the driver of a tan sedan, a man described as 50 to 60 years old, approached the boy on Andrien Road at about 4:15 p.m. on October 29. The driver reportedly asked about the child's scooter and told him to move closer to the vehicle before a resident intervened and confronted the man, who then drove off. Initial surveillance footage reviewed by investigators showed that a tan sedan and a black sedan may have followed the child as he rode, the outlet reported.
