HANSON (TSWT) – Hanson police have issued a warning about a suspicious man who approached children Saturday morning and asked them to get into his van.
The incident happened around 9:50 a.m. on Whitman Street. Police say a 911 caller reported that his son and a friend, who were under 12, were approached by a man who asked if they wanted toys.
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“The kids said no and then the man told one of the kids to ‘just get in’ his van,” police said.
The children ran away and told a parent.
Hanson Police are investigating after a man in a white van, pictured, approached children in the Whitman Street area early on Saturday. (Photo courtesy of Hanson Police Department)
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Police found video of a white work van in the area of neighbor Chris Stappen, father of three daughters. The pickup could be a Ford E-Series E-250 van with roof racks and running boards. According to the children, there was rust on the van and some kind of writing on the back
” I do not like it. There’s a navy flag flying here for a reason. I always tell my kids, all the time, ‘Don’t talk to strangers. Stay away from cars,” Stappen said. “They were riding bicycles and scooters. Just children who are children.
The van drove past the children once, then stopped a second time for a minute before the man spoke to the children, police said. He then walked to East Washington Street.
“It’s scary,” neighbor Lauri Thomas said. “It’s really scary that it’s happening right across the street.”
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Anyone with information about the van or the driver should call police at 781-293-4625.
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