After-school incident with stranger prompts warning

Detective Mike McNeill with the sheriff’s Ramona station warns youngsters not to walk alone if at all possible.

His warning comes after a report of a man in a vehicle stopping a girl walking home alone from a school bus stop. The bearded man, estimated to be in his 50s, stopped the 15-year-old as she walked along Dye Road near Toca Road about 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 6, said McNeill.

“He approached her in a vehicle, asked her where she was going, and asked if she needed a ride home,” said McNeill, adding that the teenager did not know the man. “She said no. He then asked if she wanted a ride to town.”

When she again said no, the man drove off, said McNeill.

The man was driving either a white four-door sedan or a small white SUV-type vehicle, and the teen believed the vehicle had out-of-state license plates, possibly Missouri, said McNeill. She reported that the man had a grayish or white beard.

“It concerns us,” he said. “It’s suspicious.”

McNeill advises youngsters to “be aware of your surroundings and, if at all possible, don’t walk by yourself, don’t walk home alone, walk with a buddy. If you’re approached by somebody you don’t know...get out of the situation.”

McNeill may be contacted at the Ramona station at 760-789-9157.