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Girl encounters suspicious party in park
By Nicole Chillino
The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office is encouraging parents to remind their children to take precaution when in public after a girl was approached by a man exhibiting strange behavior.
At 4:11 p.m. Nov. 9, the sheriff’s office received a report regarding the man who had approached a 12-year-old girl at Fox Run Regional Park.
The girl was approached by a man who asked her several questions, according to a statement from the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office.
“He asked if she was alone, if he could walk her home and if she would walk over the hill to pet his dog,” according to the report.
The girl was able to run away and join her friends while the man was asking her to come back.
The man was described as a 6-foot-tall white male with a medium build, dirty blond hair parted on the side, unshaven and having cracked or chapped lips, the report states. He might have a scar on his cheek and witnesses described him as being in his 40s. He was wearing a blue hoodie, gray sweatpants and white shoes when the girl saw him.
The man was walking a dog with shaggy hair and may have been in the park a couple weeks earlier with a bicycle, the report states.
The sheriff’s office is asking anyone who observes unusual behavior to report it.
The incident is the only one the sheriff’s office is aware of involving a man with the description given, said Lt. Lari Sevene, spokesperson for the office.
The incident serves as a good reminder of the need for children to be observant and take safety precautions when in public.
Kids should travel in groups of two or more because they are less likely to be approached if potential predators have to contend with more than one individual, Sevene said. Potential predators are looking for easy targets.
She added children should trust their instincts when dealing with people they do not know.
“If a child feels uncomfortable, they need to turn and walk away,” Sevene said.
It is important for young people to know not to give out personal information, including their names, to people they do not know, she said. Giving someone one’s name, for instance, can give a predator the ability to appear to a third party as if he or she knows the intended victim. By using the child’s name when talking with a third party, the predator gives a third party the illusion he or she knows the child, making it more difficult for a child to reach out to someone who could help the intended victim escape.
“You give predators ammunition when you give them information,” she said.
Sevene also said when one is approached by a suspicious person, it is important to be reasonable about the suspicion, but if something an individual is doing makes one uncomfortable there is likely a reason for it and it should be reported.
Reporting an incident gives authorities a paper trail to work from to help identify someone who has exhibited strange behavior toward a child, she said.
It is often difficult for children to give a detailed description of someone they have seen, so it is also important for them to learn to be good observers to help authorities identify a person, Sevene said.
At 4:11 p.m. Nov. 9, the sheriff’s office received a report regarding the man who had approached a 12-year-old girl at Fox Run Regional Park.
The girl was approached by a man who asked her several questions, according to a statement from the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office.
“He asked if she was alone, if he could walk her home and if she would walk over the hill to pet his dog,” according to the report.
The girl was able to run away and join her friends while the man was asking her to come back.
The man was described as a 6-foot-tall white male with a medium build, dirty blond hair parted on the side, unshaven and having cracked or chapped lips, the report states. He might have a scar on his cheek and witnesses described him as being in his 40s. He was wearing a blue hoodie, gray sweatpants and white shoes when the girl saw him.
The man was walking a dog with shaggy hair and may have been in the park a couple weeks earlier with a bicycle, the report states.
The sheriff’s office is asking anyone who observes unusual behavior to report it.
The incident is the only one the sheriff’s office is aware of involving a man with the description given, said Lt. Lari Sevene, spokesperson for the office.
The incident serves as a good reminder of the need for children to be observant and take safety precautions when in public.
Kids should travel in groups of two or more because they are less likely to be approached if potential predators have to contend with more than one individual, Sevene said. Potential predators are looking for easy targets.
She added children should trust their instincts when dealing with people they do not know.
“If a child feels uncomfortable, they need to turn and walk away,” Sevene said.
It is important for young people to know not to give out personal information, including their names, to people they do not know, she said. Giving someone one’s name, for instance, can give a predator the ability to appear to a third party as if he or she knows the intended victim. By using the child’s name when talking with a third party, the predator gives a third party the illusion he or she knows the child, making it more difficult for a child to reach out to someone who could help the intended victim escape.
“You give predators ammunition when you give them information,” she said.
Sevene also said when one is approached by a suspicious person, it is important to be reasonable about the suspicion, but if something an individual is doing makes one uncomfortable there is likely a reason for it and it should be reported.
Reporting an incident gives authorities a paper trail to work from to help identify someone who has exhibited strange behavior toward a child, she said.
It is often difficult for children to give a detailed description of someone they have seen, so it is also important for them to learn to be good observers to help authorities identify a person, Sevene said.
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