Parent Warning: Another Suspicious Van Incident in Norwalk

Reported by Paula Antolini

On late Thursday afternoon, March 13, 2014, a report came in to Norwalk Police by a student and her father, about a suspicious van.  The van was spotted by a 10-year old Cranbury Elementary School student and the driver verbally offered the student candy after the student got off the school bus in front of the Meadow Gardens Housing Complex at 49 Meadow Street.  The student said the man did not get out of the van but she declined his offer and ran away home and reported the incident to her dad when he came home.

The man was described as a white male approximately 30-40 years old, wearing glasses, and a green hooded sweatshirt, and a scar on his right cheek.  The color of the van was dark blue with tinted blue windows.

However, the student also reported that she saw the same man driving past the bus stop the next afternoon on Wednesday, only this time in a white van, but that day the van did not stop.

A notification was sent out to parents by Deputy Superintendent Tony Daddona as follows:

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Dear Parent/Guardian,  

A Cranbury School student reported being approached by a man in a van while getting off a school bus in South Norwalk, in the area of Meadow Gardens. The report said the man encouraged the student to get into the van by offering candy. He was described as a white male in his late 30s, with a scar on his right cheek, wearing a green hoodie and glasses. The report said he has been seen in both a white van and also a blue van.

Please be sure to talk with your children this weekend about safety rules regarding strangers. Remind them not to take candy or anything else from adults or children who they do not know. If a grown up asks them to get into an unfamiliar car or van, or to do anything that makes them uncomfortable, they should immediately tell a trusted adult.

We will let you know if any additional information becomes available. If you have any specific concerns or information, please let your school principal know, or contact the Norwalk Police Department.

Sincerely,
Tony Daddona
Deputy Superintendent
Norwalk Public Schools

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Please call the Norwalk Police Department if you have any information.

Norwalk Police Tip Line at 203-854-3111

Anonymous Internet tips can be sent to Norwalk Police website at: www.norwalkpd.com

Anonymous text tips can be submitted by typing "NPD" into the text field, followed by the message, and sending it to CRIMES (274637)