Sheriff Investigates Suspicious Interactions with Children

The Sheriff’s Department is investigating two instances in which North County children were approached by adults under suspicious circumstances, said Sheriff’s spokesperson Drew Sugars. Despite some similarities, Sugars said that investigators do not believe the incidents are related.

On March 1, a man allegedly stopped his car on the 1200 block of Glines Avenue in Orcutt and asked a 10-year-old boy to help close his vehicle’s driver’s side door. The boy ran to a neighbor’s house. The man was described as being white, with short dark hair and a goatee. He was driving a white Chevrolet Suburban.

Then, on March 5, an 11-year-old girl was walking home from school in Buellton when a man pulled his green two-door vehicle over to the side of the road and offered the girl food. When the girl declined, the man got out of his car and asked her again, at which point the girl ran away. Investigators are looking for the man, whom the girl described as in his 30s, about six feet tall, with short dark hair and wearing dark clothing.

Anyone with information about either incident is urged to call the Sheriff’s tip line at (805) 681-4171.