Girl escapes stranger who lured her into car, said he knew her aunt, Missouri cops say

Perryville police in Missouri are investigating a potential child abduction attempt on Tuesday, Nov. 5, they wrote in a release posted to Facebook.

An 11-year-old and her parents told police she was walking to school with her sibling, but the sibling left to retrieve an item they left behind at home. The child told police a white man in a silver Chevy Cruse approached after her sibling left and asked if she needed a ride.

Police said the child became suspicious of the man until he said he knew her aunt. She got into his vehicle and as the suspect drove toward the school, she became “uncomfortable with the comments the male made to her,” police wrote.

When the vehicle stopped at a stop sign, she unlocked the door and fled the vehicle, according to police.

A similar instance was reported to police on Oct. 24, 2019 when a female student reported a man and vehicle matching the description of Tuesday’s attempt approached her and tried to strike up conversation while she headed home from school.

She too felt uncomfortable and ran back to school, police said.

The 11-year-old girl described the man as 6-feet tall and “balding on top with short brownish-gray hair on the sides in a buzz cut.” She said he also had a “five o’clock shadow of a beard that was brownish-gray in color.”

The man is in his 30’s or 40’s and missing his upper set of teeth and has a tattoo on his left hand and inner left wrist, the child told police.

Cpl. Jeri Cain, public information officer for the Perryville Police Department, provided tips for parents to ensure their children’s safety when approached by strangers.

• Talk to your children about strangers at any age

• “Have a password between you that is only given out if someone else is to pick up your child. Explain to them if the person offering a ride doesn’t know the password, they don’t go.”

• “If your child walks to and from school, know their route. Walk it with them and find someone you may know along the route that could be a safe haven for them in the event of someone approaching them. Never get within arm’s reach of someone in a vehicle that has approached them.”

“As always, we encourage ‘see something, say something,’” Cain wrote in the release. “Contact the police department immediately if your child has been approached by a stranger. The sooner we have officers in the area, the better chance of locating a suspect.”

Anyone with information is encouraged to contact officer Blake Wright or Det. Jordan Bain at (573)-547-4546.