Editor’s note: This story did not run in all editions Friday and is being reprinted in its entirety.


By Terry Karkos
Staff Writer

DIXFIELD – Police will be presenting safety tips to students and teachers after a 10-year-old girl reported a strange man offered her a ride home from school last week.

“I’m trying to make people aware of things, make them alert and keep our kids safe,” Police Chief Richard A. Pickett said at a press conference Thursday afternoon.

His officers are searching for a light blue or silver-colored pickup truck and its driver, “a large man with a mustache and dark hair” involved in the incident on the first day of classes in SAD 21, he said.

At about 2:15 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 27, the girl was walking home from T.W. Kelly Dirigo Middle School on Weld Street, he said. When she was half a mile from the school a man she did not know reportedly offered her a ride home, Pickett said.

He said the girl became aware the truck was driving slow and following her in the vicinity of the Catholic Church and Robbins Avenue, a dead-end street.

“When she got to the intersection, she stepped back out of it to let the vehicle turn in and the person stopped. His window was down and he asked her at least three times if she wanted a ride,” Pickett said.

The girl told police that after she refused each time, the man got upset and said, “Forget it! I’ve got a full car already” and drove off.

The girl, however, told police that aside from a dog “with a pushed-in face” in the back of the truck, there were no other occupants.

The dog “was probably a pit bull, but I’m guessing. Boxers have a pushed-in face as do pugs, but pugs are too small to be seen from inside a pickup bed,” Pickett said.

The incident, however, was not reported to police until later that evening.

Police did not release information about the report for fear of inducing unnecessary panic, Pickett said.

Instead, officer Jeffrey Howe investigated the claim first to determine its veracity, Pickett said.

However, after reading a Sun Journal story Wednesday about a Lewiston man who is accused of trying to lure middle school girls into his car last week, Pickett said he decided to call a press conference.

“Our guy was not the guy in Lewiston. I showed his picture to the little girl and she said it wasn’t him,” Pickett added.

Police are seeking help from the public while stressing that students should increase their awareness of what’s around them and not talk to strangers.

“In my mind, this girl did everything right except she continued talking with him until he got upset. Kids need to really be aware of things around them and they need to use the crosswalks and be very cautious of the fact that there’s a lot of traffic out there now,” he said.

Pickett will be conducting safety talks with students and teachers next week. From 12:40 p.m. to 12:50 p.m. Monday, Sept. 8, he will conduct an assembly at Dixfield Elementary School.

“There are not many of those kids who walk to and from school, but they’re out and around playing in the neighborhood,” Pickett said.

Later on Monday, at 2:15 p.m., Pickett will meet with Dirigo Middle School teachers and stress preventative safety measures.

Middle School Principal Thomas Starratt said instructors will then share the information with their students the following day.

“A lot of students walk to and from school in clumps, but I’ve seen a lot of them, especially high school girls, walking individually,” Pickett said. “I would encourage kids to walk in pairs. It will enhance their safety. Don’t talk to strangers and never get in a vehicle with a stranger.

“If you don’t know the person, keep on walking. If you have to, run to a home or safe place. Never get close enough to a vehicle where they can reach out and grab you,” Pickett added.

tkarkos@sunjournal.com

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