A Steinbach mother is warning other parents after her daughter was followed home from school by a man who attempted to lure her into his car Tuesday afternoon.
Julie Pert said her nine-year-old girl was walking home from Elmdale School around 4 p.m., and noticed a man in a car was following her. When she got home she locked the doors and sat on the couch. She then saw a man looking outside the window at her.
Pert said the man was telling her daughter to open the door and was bribing her with McDonald’s food.
“My daughter said no I don’t know you and I don’t trust you, I am not letting you in,” Pert said.
The man then said he wanted to talk to her “about stuff she has never done before.”
WATCH: A Steinbach mom is warning parents after a man attempted to lure her daughter in his car. Global’s Lorraine Nickel reports.
Pert said he had a red camera and started to take pictures of her daughter through the window. He also tried rattling the front and back door, but both were locked.
He had left his car running in front of the house and had the front and back passenger door open, she said.
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“His intentions were clear, he was ready to take her and go, if she was not as smart as she was to keep those doors locked.”
“It’s a terrifying thing to talk about. I want parents to know it can happen to anyone.”
“This yes, very brazen, very unusual,” Staff Sgt. Harold Leninga said. “Steinbach is a very safe community so this is very disconcerting that this would happen and we’re soliciting the public for any tips they can give us. We are working actively to find out who did this.”
The man is described as 40-50 years old with a stocky build and greyish-brownish hair. He was wearing a red T-shirt, jeans and black shoes. He had an older model brown or tan car with four doors.
Police are seeking your help in identifying and locating this man. Police are also reminding parents to review safety guidelines with your children.
Officials from Hanover School Division are aware of the incident and said teachers are talking to students about the incident.
“Here are the things you can do to keep yourself safe, here’s what she did to keep herself safe and use it as an opportunity to remind everyone to be safe,” Superintendent Randy Dueck said.
Anyone with information that could help investigators is asked to contact RCMP at (204) 326-4452 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
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