September 24, 2010

Suspicious man offers students a ride
Weare, Candia parents alerted after man approaches students

GOFFSTOWN - Two towns are on alert after two similar incidents occurred in Weare and Candia.

On Monday, a high school student in Candia reported a suspicious man offered him a ride.  The student said he was approached by a man driving a green, four-door sedan on Pine Ridge Drive in 
Candia on Monday.

"He refused and continued on to his home and reported the incident," said Candia Police Chief Michael McGillen.

Yesterday, the Weare School District issued an Incident Awareness bulletin warning parents of a similar occurrence at the Weare Middle School.  

The bulletin advised parents and guardians of an incident that has occurred in Weare on route 114. Again, a green 4-door sedan, with a male driver in his mid 30’s or early 40’s approached a female high school student and offered her a ride; the student declined and reported incident to Weare police.

As of this morning, neither the Goffstown school board nor SAU 19's web sites had issued any advisories.

Police in Candia said the suspicious person, also described as a white man in his 30s, has not been found.  The principal of Moore Elementary School there sent a letter home to parents, urging them to talk to their children about staying safe around strangers.

"We're very concerned that our children understand that they shouldn't be talking to strangers," said 
Principal Robert St. Cyr. "If a strange car approaches, they need to get to an adult ASAP."

Teachers were also informed of the incident.

"I made an announcement to teachers asking them to immediately stop what they were doing and speak with the children about that, and that's what we did yesterday," St. Cyr said.

Parents in Candia said they were surprised by the incident.

"It made me a little nervous," said Pam Scott, of Candia. "It's scary to think there's a stranger out 
there that's trying to pick up kids, especially in a small town like Candia."

Police in Weare, Candia, as well as Auburn, said they were continuing to investigate the incident.

RELATED INFORMATION

• Suspicious Man Reported Near MVMS

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