Man tried to lure kids in Putnam County, offered candy and threatened them: police
CARMEL, Putnam County (WABC) -- Police are investigating after children said they were approached by a suspicious man in Putnam County.
The Carmel Police Department is investigating an incident in the residential neighborhood off State Route 301 involving a white male in his 30s.
Authorities say a mother of a 6-year-old girl called police on January 31 and reported that a driver in an unknown vehicle stopped next to her daughter as she was walking up the road and asked her where she lived.
Detectives later said the driver behind that incident was just a good Samaritan checking to make sure the girl was OK.
However, when an au pair went outside, the girl's older brother later admitted that the same thing happened to him two days prior.
"It took me like five or 10 minutes to really think about it, and I was like, Oh my God, we have to call the police," mom Kristen Sullivan said. "We have to call the police right now."
It was also later reported that two days earlier, a white pickup truck operated by a male matching the same description approached two 9-year-old boys on their bikes in the same neighborhood, offering them candy and attempting to lure them to the back of his truck.
Police say they said the driver also threatened their lives if they said anything about the incident.
"We just want to find out who it is and get to the bottom of this," Carmel police Chief Micahel Cazzari said. "We take it very serious, and we want to protect the children in our community and in the area."
The driver is described as a white male in his 30s wearing camouflage. The pickup is described as being beat up with many dents.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Officer Brian Smith at 845-628-1300 or email bjs@ci.carmel.ny.us.
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