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Teen thwarts possible trouble

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Sheriff’s deputies are giving Ramona schools additional patrol time after a high school student reported that a man tried to lure her into his car as she walked home from cheer practice last Wednesday.

The incident occurred near Keyser Road and Hanson Lane about 4:15 p.m., said sheriff’s Detective Barb Crozier at the Ramona Substation.

The student told the sheriff’s department that a man in a four-door black sedan told her to get in the car, that he would give her a ride home. She described him as white, heavy set, in his 20s, with crooked teeth and wearing a black shirt and thick-rimmed oval-shaped dark sunglasses.

When she told him no, he continued to follow her and tell her to get in the car, said Crozier. Afraid, the girl went to a nearby house and pretended she was talking to people she knew. No one was home.

When she left the house, he was waiting for her, and she told him, “I’m going to call the police,” said Crozier. The man left.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact Crozier at the Ramona Substation, 760-789-9157.

After learning of the incident, school officials alerted school employees, including bus drivers, and Ramona High School Principal Tony Newman delivered an “all-call” phone message to parents, telling them a man tried to persuade a girl to get in his car. He outlined what had happened, including that more police cars are patrolling the school area, and he encouraged parents to talk to their children and tell them to be aware of their surroundings.

Merit Whitney, school district transportation supervisor, said bus drivers have been told of the incident and they continue to stay alert.

“Drivers are always on the lookout for suspicious things,” she said.

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