Stranger Handing Toy To Children In Jefferson County Flees When Approached By One's Father
JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colo. (CBS4) - Sheriff's office investigators are looking into a suspicious encounter between a stranger and two children in the Friendly Hills neighborhood of unincorporated Jefferson County on Friday. A 9-year-old boy and a 7-year-old girl were walking near their home in the 11900 block of West Temple Drive when an adult male drove past them, made a U-turn, got out of his car and tried to give a "Skip It" toy to the kids, according to details provided by the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office.
The boy's father witnessed the interaction. When he approached the male driver, the man dropped the toy, ran back to his car and drove away.
The boy's father and another witness provided a description of the man: A white male possibly in his 30s with a medium build and dark facial hair, wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt and jeans, and wearing a baseball cap. The man's car was described as a gold sedan.
"It is the second alarming incident in the area this week involving an unknown male engaging inappropriately with children," JCSO stated in a press release Saturday.
In the earlier incident, a 9-year-old girl was grabbed by the arm while walking on the Weaver Gulch Trail at Harriman Lake. The male ran away when the girl screamed. He was described as 5-foot-9, medium build, unknown race, wearing a black pullover hoodie, black bandanna with a white design, dark jeans with a hole in the right knee and dark sunglasses.
Investigators do not know if the two incidents are related.
They say they believe the suspect was driving a gold sedan.
Anyone with information of either incident is asked to call JeffCo dispatch's non-emergency number, (303) 271-0211, or Metro Denver Crime Stoppers, (720) 913-7867. Surveillance video is requested.
NOTE -- An earlier version of this article included photos of a dark sedan believed to be the suspect's vehicle. Those photos were distributed by the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office. At 5:20 p.m., JCSO advised the public that the dark vehicle was determined to not be involved in the incident with the children.