Barrington Police Investigate Stranger Who Offered Young Girl a Ride

Editor's note: Barrington Police issued a news release warning residents of a "stranger danger incident.

 Barrington Police are investigating an incident where a stranger offered a ride to a young girl walking home from her bus stop.

On Friday Jan. 20 at approximately 3:30 p.m., a 13-year-old girl was walking home from her bus stop at Dundee Avenue and Lake Street in Barrington. A man driving an older-model, dark-colored Chrysler Town & Country mini‐van made a u-turn and stopped in the street to talk to her. He offered to give her a ride home or wherever she wanted to go.

The man was described as a white male about 40 to 50 years old. He was heavy set and had white hair and a beard.

When the girl refused the ride, the man stopped the car. The girl ran home and told her father of the incident. Police checked the area but could not find the car or subject. No similar reports were made Friday or in recent months.

Strangers talking to young juveniles in Algonquin and Carpentersville have been in the news recently.

Police do not believe this incident is related to those. The description of the vehicle and subjects is significantly different from those incidents.

Police warn families and children to not concentrate on the description of the stranger or their vehicle to protect themselves. Strangers offering rides or asking for help from children can come in either sex, be old, young or of any nationality or race. They may drive old or new cars, pickups, trucks or vans.

Concentrate on the message of not accepting rides and not going near strangers that stop to ask you for help. There are a few simple rules:

• Don't get into a conversation with strangers who try to talk to you on the way home.

• If the stranger continues trying to talk to you or stops the vehicle, run home or run to the nearest public place and immediately tell an adult what has happened.

• NEVER walk up to a car of a stranger and NEVER walk off with a stranger.

• Try to walk with a friend or group of fellow students, whether it is home, to/from school or the bus stop.

• If you have a cell phone, call 911 immediately.

• Try to remember as much as you can about the stranger and vehicle.

As parents and community members there are a few things we can do to help:

• Discuss the simple rules with your children.

• Take notice of children walking home. If you see anyone approach the child get a good description of the person and any vehicle or license plate. Ask the person if you can help them instead.

• Don’t confuse the safety message for children. Stopping a neighborhood child and offering them a ride home may make it difficult for them in the future to follow simple rules on who is a stranger and who isn’t.

An excellent information resource for parents is the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.