A person who identified himself as the driver of a pickup truck involved in a suspicious incident with a 5-year-old in Carmel spoke with detectives investigating the case.
"It was learned that the driver did stop to check that the 5-year-old running in the roadway was OK," Town of Carmel Police Chief Michael Cazzari said late Tuesday afternoon, Feb. 4.
Cazzari said the man drove away after confirming that the child was safe in a residential neighborhood off Route 301 in the hamlet of Carmel.
"It has been deemed that there is no suspicious or criminal activity at this time," Cazzari said. "We would like to thank all the concerned citizens that contacted the police with information."
Original report:
Police are asking the public's help in the investigation of separate apparent luring incidents involving young boys and a girl that appear to be linked to the same man.
The most recent incident happened on Friday, Jan. 31 when the Town of Carmel Police Department responded to a report of a suspicious incident in a residential neighborhood off Route 301 in the hamlet of Carmel.
The mother of a 5-year-old girl contacted police to report that the driver of the suspicious vehicle stopped next to the child as she walked up the road and asked her daughter where she lived, Town of Carmel Police Chief Michael Cazzari said.
The au pair watching the child noticed something was wrong and went outside. The operator was described as a white male in his 30s with short brown hair, wearing a camouflaged jacket.
It was later reported that on Wednesday, Jan. 29, a white pickup truck operated by a man matching the same description as the Jan. 31 incident approached two 9-year-old males on their bicycles in the same neighborhood, Cazzari said.
The man told them he had the best candy around and they could get it from the back of his truck, according to Cazzari.
The man also told the 9-year-olds that if they told anyone about the incident, he won’t give them a chance to live, said Cazzari.
Members of the Town of Carmel Police are working closely with our areas law enforcement partners in identifying the subject that allegedly tried to lure young children into his pickup truck.
Any person with information that may assist us in this investigation is urged to contact Police Officer Brian Smith at 845-628-1300 or bjs@ci.carmel.ny.us.
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