Suspicious Man Tries To Coax Child To Leave With Him: Petaluma PD

PETALUMA, CA — The Petaluma Police Department is investigating a report about a suspicious man trying to coax a child to leave a city park with him.

Around 7 p.m. Thursday, dispatchers received a call from the child's mother. The Petaluma woman told police the incident happened around 5:15 p.m. at McDowell Park, 1418 McGregor Ave.

"The parent reported her young child had been playing at the park when a male subject approached her child and repeatedly attempted to talk him into riding his bicycle and leave with him," Petaluma police said in a news release.

"The parents ran over to the child and yelled at the unknown subject to leave and to stop talking to the child" police said. "The subject continued to try and convince the child to leave with him, but after the parent continued to try and get the subject to leave, he left the area on his bicycle in an unknown direction."

Police said no one at the scene was familiar with the man, and asked for the public's help to identify him.

The man was described as Hispanic in his late 40s with a thin build and bald. According to police, he was last seen wearing a gray shirt and blue shorts and was riding a small red bicycle.

Police asked anyone who may have video surveillance of the area or witnessed the incident to contact Officer N. Bautista at 707-781-1272 or nbautista@cityofpetaluma.org.