Tulsa World: Authorities searching for man trying to lure children in Washington Co.

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Authorities searching for man trying to lure children in Washington Co.

By LAURA SUMMERS World Correspondent
Published: 9/4/2009 12:59 PM
Last Modified: 9/4/2009 2:04 PM

RAMONA - Washington County Sheriff’s deputies passed out letters for parents at area schools on Friday to raise awareness of a suspicious vehicle and man who approached children in the Caney Valley school district earlier this week.

Sheriff Rick Silver said families need to be aware of what is going on and be alert to their surroundings in the wake of two Monday incidents, in which a white male driving a white van attempted to lure children into the vehicle. In one case, the man told a girl he would “hurt” her if she didn’t get in the vehicle, Silver said.

“We are hoping we will get more information from people when they are aware of the situation,” Silver said. “If they have any information, we want to hear it. You never know when you may have the piece of information we need to solve this.”

To report information, call the Sheriff’s Office at (918) 337-2800.

One incident occurred around 6:45 a.m. Monday when a man approached a boy who was walking to school in Ramona. Silver said the man got out of the van, approached the boy and struck up a conversation. When the man began urging the student to get in the van with him, the boy “kicked the guy and took off running,” Silver said.

Another report involved a girl, who was approached by a man in a white van as she was walking to a bus stop. The van driver told her to “get in or I’ll hurt you,” Silver said. The student started crying and ran away.

The man is described as 30 to 45 years of age, about 6 feet tall, with a reddish tint to his hair. He has facial hair at the time of the incidents, but Silver said that is a feature that can be changed. The white van with tinted windows might be a Dodge Caravan or a Ford Aerostar.

The sheriff’s office identified two suspects known to the department who have criminal histories and drive white vans, but Silver said they were not chosen during a photo line-up so they might not remain persons of interest in the case.

Caney Valley Public Schools have buildings located in Ochelata and Ramona areas, and security has been increased in the region. Silver said deputies also are handing out letters to students in Copan at the north end of the county to continue raising safety awareness. Bartlesville school officials also were notified about the situation, he said. By LAURA SUMMERS World Correspondent

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Reader comments for this story have been moved to the most updated version of the story, now under the headline "Parents, officials look for man who tried to lure kids into van," which was published on 9/5/2009. So far, 22 comments have been made.