COURTENAY, B.C. – The Comox Valley RCMP is looking into a potential child luring case.
Constable Monika Terragni said that on Saturday, November 10th, the detachment received a report at around 1:30 p.m. about an 11-year-old girl being approached by a stranger near the roundabout on Willemar Avenue in Courtenay earlier that day.
“The girl reported that she was riding her bicycle when a black van pulled up beside her and held up two bags of candy. The lone male driver did not say anything but pointed at the candy. The girl immediately rode away on her bicycle,” Terragni explained in a release.
“Investigators would like to speak with anyone who was in the area on Saturday afternoon and may have spotted the van.”
The van has been described as a nearly new black vehicle, with tinted rear windows.
“The driver pulled into the oncoming lane of traffic to speak with the young girl,” Terragni said.
The driver has been described as a Caucasian male between 25 and 45-years-old, with a small light coloured goatee wearing a black cowboy-like hat.
In the wake of the incident, Karla Ullman, the mother of the girl involved, had a message for parents.
“Talk to your kids and just say, it doesn’t matter if they know you or know a family member, you do not, under any circumstances, approach a vehicle for candy even if they’re asking you for directions, do not (go) near that vehicle, you run to the nearest house,” she said.
“It’s scary, and it doesn’t take long for someone just to grab you and throw you in a van if they want to take you. Everyone needs to be aware and come together as a community and just keep an eye out for things that are going on here, and phone the police. They can only do so much if people don’t phone in.”
Anyone with further details is asked to contact the Comox Valley RCMP at (250) 338-1321 or CrimeStoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
