Police say a 12-year-old girl was followed by an unknown man from a school playground in Whitby, Ont., and was forced to hide in bushes until she could find help.
Durham Regional Police said the girl was sitting in the playground area of St. Paul’s Catholic School, on Garrard Road near Parkview Boulevard, around 6 p.m. on Oct. 12.
The girl was talking on the phone when police said she noticed a man walking toward her so she got up, walked away and started running when she realized he was following her.
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Police said the girl ran to the front of the school, then north on Garrard Street to Parkview Boulevard, but the suspect continued to follow her.
The girl then ran a block west along Parkview Boulevard to Hazelwood Drive, where police said she hid in the bushes briefly before running to a friend’s house where she called police.
Police said the suspect didn’t speak to the girl and she was not physically injured in the incident.
The suspect is described by police as a white man in his 50s, with an unshaven face and dirty blond shoulder-length stringy hair. He was last seen wearing a brown T-shirt with black writing on it and blue jeans.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Det.-Const. Dalziel at 1-888-579-1520 ext. 1832 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).