The following was posted to NextDoor for a neighborhood in south College Station. The author gave me permission to repost here. Please remind your kids to never get in the car with strangers! CSPD has been notified and is on the watch for this vehicle.
quote:
'I apologize for the length of this post, but I want to alert you to an incident that happened to my 11 year old as he walked to the bus stop this morning. Between 7:15-7:20 a.m., he was walking down our street toward the bus stop. We live in Estates at Creek Meadows. A champagne/gold/tan colored van with windows PAINTED black (not tinted black) pulled up beside him. An older white female with wavy/curly hair leaned out the window and said to him, "Hey baby, you need a ride?" He told her, "No," and kept walking. He said he did not recognize her from our neighborhood. She offered again to give him a ride and said, "Come on; it'll be fun. I'll take you to wherever you are trying to go." He declined again, and by now was starting to get scared. She encouraged him to get in the van a third time, asking if he was sure he did not want a ride. He again told her, "No," and she eventually pulled off.
He was very disturbed by this incident and is concerned for other kids in the neighborhood. This may be an instance of someone being well-intentioned, but I believe most well-intentioned parents trying to help a kid running late to the bus stop would not try to persuade him/her to get in a strange vehicle with PAINTED BLACK windows after they have repeatedly declined the offer.
I am so thankful that he made the RIGHT decision and did not get in the vehicle. I am sharing this because I know several children in our neighborhood and surrounding ones walk or bike to and from school or the bus stop by themselves. I would hate for this to happen to another person's child so please encourage your babies to be alert as they go to school or even play in the neighborhood. I have reported this incident to the local police, and they are going to try and watch for similar suspicious activity."