Greece/Ontario/Marion, N.Y. - Police in
Wayne and
Monroe Counties are sharing information about three reports of teenagers being approached by men in cars. They have ruled out any connection.
“At this point we don’t see any common denominators other than we have three incidents in a short time period,” says Wayne County Sheriff Barry Virts.
All of the reports were made this week. Two in Wayne County, one in Monroe.
Two school districts in Wayne County have notified parents. But at this point police say the alleged incidents don’t fit a pattern and that notification is simply a precaution.
Here are the details:
Monday at 6:20 in the evening in the Town of Marion, a teenage girl says a man parked on Mill Street called her over to his car and offered her a ride. She told police what happened when she refused.
“She walked past the car and he reached out and grabbed her in the forearm,” says Sheriff Virts. She broke free and ran.
A second incident, also in Wayne County, is alleged to have occurred outside the Town of Ontario Public Library on Ridge Road Tuesday evening. The teenager told police a car followed her as she walked in the parking lot. The driver called out for help and asked her the time.
According to the police report, there was never any physical contact because the girl never approached the car.
Neither of the teenaged girls who reported those incidents remembers much about the suspect or the vehicle. Yet based on what police do know, they have ruled out any connection.
“The incident that happened in the Town of Ontario is unrelated.” says Captain Neil Gallivan. “The description is completely different. The circumstances are different.”
Wayne Central and Marion School Districts are alerting parents through phone calls to talk with their kids about strangers. Police meanwhile stress the situation warrants caution and not alarm.
Police say that is because they are working to verify both accounts. “They are reports made by teenage girls,” says Sheriff Virts. “We take all our reports as credible until our investigation shows one way or another.”
Greece Police are investigating a third incident reported at 7 p.m. Wednesday. A 17-year-old jogger was approached in the rite aid parking lot at Ridge Road and Stone Street. The teen says she was approached by a driver asking her – twice - to get in the car.
She says he drove away when she pulled out her cell phone.
In this case, there is a description. Police say the suspect is a white male, clean shaven, between 40 and 50 years old with graying hair. He was driving a newer model four door silver sedan.
