Man in white van stalks girl on way home from school

LAPEER — Police are asking residents to keep an eye out for a dirty white Chevrolet Venture van, driven by an older white man.

A 13-year-old girl told Lapeer City Police Monday that the man followed her home from the Chatfield School. Det./Sgt. Craig Gormley said the girl told Officer Trevor Johnson that she encountered the man about 3:30 p.m. as he pulled onto West Genesee Street from Charbridge Avenue. The girl, who was riding a bicycle, told Johnson the man offered to give her a ride home. When she declined, he then followed her first east on Genesee; then north on Lincoln Street; and finally east on Liberty Street.

The girl, said Gormley, described the suspect as an older man with a black winter hat and a gray beard. She told police the man spoke with a British accent.

Gormley said the incident was all the more unusual because the weather was clear. The girl told police the van had dark tinted windows.

Anyone who saw the van or the suspect Monday should call Gormley or Johnson at the Lapeer City Police Dept. at 810-664-0833.

— Phil Foley