Police praise girl, 9, for evading man who tried to lure her from home
Steinbach mom says daughter nearly abducted by stranger Tuesday after school
A nine-year-old girl has won praise from policefor her quick-thinking actions when a man with a camera tried to lure her out of her home on Tuesday afternoon.
Julie Pertsaid a man followed her daughter Ariel from school,took pictures of her through awindow and tried convince her to unlock a door andlet him in.
"He was very persistent, trying to get her to let him in. He was telling her he just wanted to talk to her," Pert said, adding the man tried coaxing her out withMcDonald's food.
Arielrepeatedly said "no" so the man tried to get into the house through the front door, her mother said.It was locked, so he ran to the side door and tried that one, but it was also locked, Pert said.
Staff Sgt.Harold Laninga, with the Steinbach RCMP, saidAriel did everything right, starting with being aware of her surroundings and noticing a man was following her in his car.
"She recognized that right away and it made her run a little bit," Laninga said."She was very smart. I think she's to be commended for the excellent job she did."
Laninga said he wasimpressedby the fact she did not fall forany of the promises he made or gifts he offered.
'He said he wantedtotalk'
Pert said the man told her daughter she should open the door so he could "be safe with her."
"He said he wantedto talk to her about things she's never done before," she said.
Police believe the man possibly followed her on her walk home, which she did with a friend, from ElmdaleSchool.
Ariel later told Pert who had taken her son to the doctor that afternoon the man's car was parked out front and was running. The front and rear passenger doors were open, she said.
"His intentions were clear as to what he wanted to do. He was trying to take my daughter and go," Pert said.
Eventually, another car came down the street, which seemed to spook the man, Pert said. He ran back to his car, got in and drove off.
Just after the man left, Ariel's brothers, who attend a different school, got home.Pert arrived shortly afterwardand said she had to try to get Ariel to calm down, she was so shaken.
Pert called the RCMP who arrived quickly and took a statement and patrolled the area.
His intentions were clear as to what he wanted to do. He was trying to take my daughter and go- Julie Pert
Pert has since posted warnings to others onFacebookabout the incident, which happened onMaplewoodStreet in the cityabout 60 kilometres southeast of Winnipeg.
Pert said the school had sent letters home a few weeks ago, alerting parents to a suspicious vehicle in the area, but there wasn't much to it and she kind of forgot about it.
'The young lady did a great job'
Staff Sgt. Laninga said he has spoken withHanover School Division about passing on more warnings to parents to watch for suspicious vehicles.
Thankfully, he said, Ariel provided a detailed description of the man and with Steinbachbeing a relatively small city, he is optimisticthey will track him down.
"The young lady did a great job with providing us with information regarding what happened. That helps us a great deal," he said.
Pert said the incident not only scared her daughter but her whole family was shaken.
"But I'm not going to lie, I totally cried. I'm really glad that I've been very persistent when talking to my kids [about being safe around strangers]," she said.
"I moved from Winnipeg last year to try and get away from all the nonsense. We've only been here for a year and I definitely won't put this as a damper on the whole community, because the community is amazing."
Laningasaidwhile what happened to Ariel is unusual it's not unheard of in Steinbachor any city for that matter.
"We have had a couple incidents at different schools and we've treated them all very seriously," he said.
Steinbach remains a very safe place to raise a family, he said.
Crime Stoppers accepting tips
The man who approached Ariel is described as 40-50 years old with a stockybuild and greyish-brownish hair. He was wearing a red T-shirt, blue jeans, black shoes and holding a red camera.
He had an older-model brown or tan car with four doors.
Anyone with information that could help investigators is asked to contact RCMP at 204-326-4452 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
Anonymous tips can also be submitted on the Manitoba Crime Stoppers website or by textingTIPMAN plus a message to Crimes (274637).
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