Today, we received two accounts of recent events in the community that we felt compelled to bring to your attention.
One was from today’s Daily Hampshire Gazette and the other from the UMass Police Department. The text of both reports are found below. They describe similar incidents, one of which occurred in the vicinity of the high school.
The Amherst Police Department advises the following precautions:
1. There is safety in numbers. Walk with a friend or friends whenever possible.
2. Be alert as you’re walking.
3. Don’t approach strangers
4. If a stranger approaches you, either on foot or in a car, walk away to a trusted adult.
5. Call the police
Thank you
From the Daily Hampshire Gazette,
Friday, March 13, 2009:
by smerzbach
AMHERST - A woman jogging on Strong, East Pleasant and Triangle streets Wednesday afternoon reported to police a suspicious incident in which a man driving a car followed her and asked her to get inside the vehicle.
The college-age woman said she first observed the suspicious silver Nissan Altima parked on Red Gate Lane while she was jogging on Strong Street. After passing by the vehicle, the vehicle drove off. She then observed the car parked on Chestnut Street while she was on East Pleasant Street. Finally, as the woman started up Triangle Street and then onto Smith Street, she noticed the vehicle again, at which time the man asked her to get in and go for a ride with him.
After the woman refused to go for a ride, the man asked her just to get inside so they could talk. The man then drove off after he was rejected a second time.
The woman provided police with a license plate number and a description of the man as being a light-skinned Hispanic or Asian, with dark hair and facial hair and wearing an orange jacket. Police went to the man’s home, but were unable to locate him.
The incident is similar to ones reported recently in Sunderland and Hadley. In Sunderland, a woman walking her dogs was approached Tuesday night by a man in a vehicle, who got out from it and chased her on foot until she got home.
In a Feb. 26 incident in Hadley, a teenage girl jogging on Hockanum Road reported a man parked in a vehicle, who then followed her on foot.
Amherst police Detective Brandon Seymour said the incident remains under investigation, and police are hoping to locate and speak to the man who was driving the car.
The University of Massachusetts Police Department would like to make the community aware of several incidents that have occurred in local communities around campus. Sunderland, Hadley and Amherst Police have all taken reports from women who have been approached by a male described as in his mid-30’s, bald, with a medium to slim build. The vehicle description has been given as a light-colored minivan or SUV. The subject has reportedly attempted to abduct these women.