MICHAEL MCCABE
WESTFIELD–The city’s police department said that there should be no concerns related to the recent reports of a suspicious white van near schools.
Two reports came to police, one around 8:30 a.m. on Nov. 15 and another around 7:30 a.m. on Nov. 16, that reported a suspicious person approached children and asked for assistance with a GPS system on his phone. In addition to the reports, complaints found their way onto Facebook through community forums, which caused concern with residents.
After investigating the matter though, Westfield Police concluded that the incidents were not of concern for residents or the department.
“It appears there’s nothing to worry about,” Westfield Police Capt. Michael McCabe said.
In an effort to further explain the situation, McCabe and Westfield Police Det. Lt. David Ragazzini took to the Westfield Detective Bureau’s Facebook to further explain.
In the post, Ragazzini said that neither instance appeared to be an attempted abduction of a child.
In the first instance, children were approached by a stranger and asked to help him with his GPS and they declined. After the children declined, the stranger thanked them and approached an adult.
“The subject was reportedly polite to children. He did not attempt to grab, chase or follow the kids,” Ragazzini wrote in the post. “At this time we do not believe… this was an attempted abduction.”
In the second instance, a report was made after a child claimed that they were also approached by a stranger in a white van, asking for assistance with a GPS system. However, after police talked with the parents and investigated, Raggazini wrote that the child had modified the story, instead reporting that a white van was seen going house-to-house.
“The driver never approached or spoke with the kid,” Ragazzini wrote. “We do not believe that this was an attempted abduction either.”
Police thanked residents who were watchful and assisted, and said that they do take these reports seriously.
If there is any suspicious activity, you are still urged to dial 911 and allow police to investigate.
