On October 19, 2011 at 3:00 p.m. a nine-year-old boy was walking home from Hartford Elementary School when a Hispanic male appeared out of an alley and began chasing after the boy. As the child was running, a vehicle approached. As it passed by, the unknown male stopped running, returned to a pick-up truck, and left the area. The child continued running home and reported the incident to his grandfather.
The Hispanic male was wearing a black sweater with a black coat overtop the sweater, black pants, and work boots. The unknown male is believed to be 30 to 40 years of age with a medium build. He was also wearing a black hat with ruffles on top of the hat. The child was unable to provide a description of the pick-up truck. Currently, there is no composite available of this subject.
It is not clear if this incident is related to previous similar incidents, which occurred in late August and early September in the same general area. The Chandler Police Department is continuing its investigation in this matter as well as the past incidents and continues to work with the Chandler Unified School District to notify students and their parents about this latest encounter. We encourage parents to talk to their children about preventative measures to ensure their safety from child predators.
The Chandler Police Department is asking anybody with information regarding this or past incidents to contact us at (480) 782-4130.
For further information contact Detective Seth Tyler.