Suspicious Incident Reported By Petaluma Student

PETALUMA, CA — The Petaluma Police Department is looking into a suspicious incident reported by a 13-year-old girl this week.

Around 3 p.m. Tuesday, the girl was walking home from Valley Vista Elementary School when an older man in a small white car drove up alongside her on North Webster Street near Bodega Avenue and told her to "come here" three times, police said.

"The victim informed the subject that her mother was parked nearby," Petaluma police Sgt. Nicholas Raccanello said. "The subject then made a U-turn and drove back the opposite direction."

The girl described the suspicious person as an older, bald white man with a gray-and-white goatee who was driving a small, older-model white car. She said the car had several dents and scratches but did not indicate where on the car the body damage was.

"Petaluma City School Administration have been notified of this incident and are working in partnership with the Petaluma Police Department on this investigation," Raccanello said Wednesday in a news release.

Officers were reviewing video surveillance from the area to identify any possible leads.

Police asked anyone with information relevant to the investigation to contact Officer B. Haug at 707-781-1220 or bhaug@cityofpetaluma.org.