Suspicious gray van puts parents on alert

Written by Justin Reynolds
Wednesday, 28 October 2009 12:52

Wilton police have recently received three separate complaints of a suspicious gray van in town, possibly imposing a threat to school children, but Lt. Donald Wakeman said police aren’t sure whether any of the incidents are related.

In a statement by police on Friday, Lt. Wakeman said the first incident, which allegedly occurred on Thursday, Oct. 15, at approximately 2:45 p.m., consisted of a gray van, which police said was possibly operated by a Hispanic male, who was observed by a child on Hearthstone Lane “acting in a suspicious manner.”

“The operator reportedly beeped his horn as the child walked down the road and drove up to the child, who was walking in the opposite direction of the vehicle,” Lt. Wakeman said in the release. “The child became scared and ran home. No words were exchanged.”

Police said the van was then observed leaving Hearthstone Lane, traveling south on Belden Hill Road.

Six days later, on Wednesday, Oct. 21, at 3:15 p.m. police received a similar call about a gray van, possibly operated by a Hispanic male, on Belden Hill Road, near Hearthstone Lane. The van, police said, stopped for the school bus. A child who was aware of the previous complaint thought it could be the same van and told his friend, who contacted police.

Lt. Wakeman said following the Oct. 15 incident, many parents circulated warnings to each other about the van through e-mail.

“There’s no indication the two are actually related. There was no indication the van on Belden Hill Road was doing anything wrong,” he said. “It seemed like there was a lot of misinformation spreading.”

Also on Oct. 21, around 4 p.m., a van with a slightly different description was reported on Teapot Hill Road, off Nod Hill Road. The men inside the van, possibly two Hispanics, was reportedly taking pictures of a child playing in a yard.

“It’s good the community is on a heightened sense of alert,” Lt. Wakeman said. “We’ve gotten numerous phone calls.”

Lt. Wakeman said it is “kind of a stretch” to tie all three of these incidents together.

In either case, “we’ve had officers in these two different areas in this time frame,” he said. “We’re out there, we’re talking a look. But what the intention is of the operators, it’s really hard to tell.”

Police said they’d like to take this opportunity to remind parents to tell their children to be aware of their surroundings and exercise caution when encountering a strange vehicle or unknown person.