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Canton police on high alert after stranger danger incident

Posted at 5:45 PM, Dec 11, 2018
and last updated 2018-12-11 17:45:01-05

Canton police are investigating a stranger danger incident after an 11-year-old girl waiting for the school bus says a man tried getting her into his car.

“She was just terrified, the look on her face was just horror, something I can’t even describe,” the victim’s mother said. “She came running through the door, terrified, screaming, crying.”

She does not want to reveal her identity because she's scared for her family’s safety.

But she’s brave enough to tell Action News what happened to her daughter, to make sure folks in her community are safe.

“You don’t really think it’s going to happen to you until it actually happens," the victim's mother said. "It’s one of the most terrifying things ever.”

Her daughter was waiting for the bus near Ardsley and Burnham roads around 7:20 a.m. Tuesday, when she says a man in a white four-door car, with rust along the bottom, had been circling the neighborhood.

“He passed once, seen her, went by a second time with his window halfway down," the mother said. "The third time he came by, he pulled up, he had his window down, opened his door, stepped one foot out and told her to ‘come here’ and at that point, she started screaming.”

The girl ran off and neighbors saw the man speeding away.

“You don’t really think it’s going to happen to you until it actually happens," the mother said. "It’s one of the most terrifying things ever.”

Canton police describe the driver as a 25-year-old white man wearing a black hoodie, black pants, black hat, and dark blue Nike shoes. 

He did not have any facial hair, but the mother says he wore a skull cap that had eyeholes in it.  That is something that could conceal his identity, making her believe he had planned his attack.

Now, she is warning the community to keep their children close and their eyes open.

“Your kids, you bring them into the world," the victim's mother said. "Your job is to keep them safe at all times. You never think something like this will happen to them.”

The Canton Police Department will be increasing patrols in all neighborhoods and school zones. 

Anyone with additional information or that may have observed this suspicious vehicle is encouraged to contact the Canton Police Department at 734-394-5400.