Caution recommended at bus stops

Police say parents should watch children, send them in groups to catch bus

By JOHN MUNFORD
jmunford@TheCitizenNews.com

Police are advising parents to keep a closer eye on children waiting on bus stops after reports of a suspicious person trying to talk to a girl waiting alone for the bus on two different occasions in three months.

“We’re also suggesting kids not go to the bus stop alone because there’s safety in numbers,” said Lt. Beverly Trainor of the Fayetteville Police Department.

In both cases, the man never left his vehicle, a unknown model red four-door car, but he shouted at the girls — who ranged from middle school to early high school age — in an attempt to get them to come closer and talk to him, Trainor said. The vehicle was parked some distance away from the area the victims were waiting alone, she added.

In both instances, the girls did the right thing, Trainor said — they ran away to a safe place and found an adult to tell about the incident.

“We were just so proud those kids were smart enough not to go over there and not talk to him, but to get an adult,” Trainor said. “... They provided good descriptions, too (of the suspect).”

The incidents took place at two different bus stops, Trainor added.

It is not clear if the same suspicious person was involved in both incidents, which happened at two different bus stops in town, Trainor said. Although the physical descriptions of the suspicious person were similar in some ways, they were different in others, she added.

“We don’t know what this person’s intentions were,” Trainor said. “All we know is that he tried to strike up a conversation. We’re just planning for the worst-case scenario.”

Officers have stepped up bus stop patrols but can’t be everywhere, Trainor said, urging residents to report suspicious activity in their neighborhood to police.

Trainor said police have noticed a marked increase in the number of parents waiting with children at bus stops and escorting their children to the bus stops.

The department also offers a “Stranger Danger” program which they will teach to groups upon request to warn children of the dangers of interacting with strangers.

“Anybody that asks, we’ll do that for them,” Trainor said. The department also has pamphlets on the subject and can help parents who want to bring up the topic with their children but don’t know how to ease into the subject, she added.

Officers have been working with school officials to identify the locations of all bus stops and bus routes, Trainor added.