Stranger Danger II: 2nd Child Approached By Man In White Van

TIGARD, OR — A stranger in a white van reportedly asked a child in Tigard in they wanted a ride home Thursday afternoon. Police say this is the second time in two weeks an incident like this has occurred.

In both stranger danger incidents, the children were walking home from school. Also in both incidents, the children ran after they were approached by the the stranger in the white van.

Neither child was harmed, police said, noting the similarities between the two incidents does not necessarily mean they were perpetrated by the same individual.

The first incident was reported Jan. 3. According to Tigard police spokesman Jim Wolf, as the child was walking home along Southwest Katherine Street, near Southwest 124th Avenue and Mary Woodward Elementary School, a white work-type van with tinted windows approached. The man behind the wheel then reportedly asked the child if they wanted a ride or some toys.

The child told police the man was white, likely in his 30s, with a short, salt and pepper-colored beard. The van reportedly appeared to have a tarp covering the rear windows, a dent on its rear bumper, and an Oregon license plate with the tree emblem.

The second incident was reported Thursday, Jan. 11. While the incident was reported by different parents, the situations were eerily similar.

The child was reportedly walking home from James Templeton Elementary School, near Southwest 93rd Avenue and Southwest Inez Street, just after 2:30 p.m. when a white man driving a white van in the opposite direction pulled alongside and asked if the child needed a ride. Wolf said the man remained behind the wheel and spoke to the child through the passenger-side window.

Wolf said police have received numerous tips from the public but none have led investigators to the right white van.

Anyone who thinks they may have witnessed the incident Jan. 11, or who may have information about the white van and/or suspect, is asked to call 503-718-2677, or email tips@tigard-or.gov.

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