AURORA, Colo. — A 7-year-old girl was reportedly approached by a man in a dark van while walking home from school in Aurora.
The incident happened last Friday where a trail meets South Andes Street near Horizon Middle and Summit Elementary schools. Kimberly West, a mother of three, was walking her three daughters home from school.
“I was farther down, a little lower on the hill, and he only apparently saw my daughter,” she said.
She said the man was in a dark gray van and had pulled up along the street. He was talking to her daughter.
“In a very eerie child-like (voice), like he was talking to a baby, he said, ‘Are you walking home from school now?’” West said.
The moment the man saw West, he sped away, she said.
“This guy clearly left as soon as he saw me,” she said. “I believe if I hadn’t been there the next question would have been that he was going to give her a ride home or could he give her a ride home. That’s my biggest fear.”
She called Aurora police. They posted on Facebook about the incident, and included the following description of the van and the suspicious man inside:
A juvenile female victim was walking home from school when she was approached by a suspicious male in a minivan who spoke to her in a “child like” voice. When the mother of the child approached, the van quickly drove off.
The suspect is a white male, 40-45 years of age, with a medium build and possibly has a "beer belly". The male was wearing a baseball cap and possibly light blue shirt.
The suspect vehicle is a grey minivan, possibly a Honda Odyssey or Chrysler Town and Country. The van has a wavy sticker on the back passenger window or rear window.
The Cherry Creek School District sent a message home to parents, telling them about the reported incident and asked students to be alert.
“Please remind your child to be watchful as they are walking to and from school, walk in pairs or with friends, don’t talk with strangers and do not accept a ride from any stranger,” the message read.
West said since she posted about the suspicious van on Facebook, four of her neighbors have reported to her they've seen a similar van with a man also possibly trying to talk to children.
She said there was no way the man was simply trying to help her daughter.
“I don’t know what his purpose is but it’s not a good purpose,” she said. “It wasn’t innocent.”
