Authorities issued a public warning Tuesday about an unidentified man who posed as a police officer and tried to lure two girls into a vehicle in a Skyline-area neighborhood.
The imposter, who appeared to be in his late 20s, approached two children, ages 9 and 12, at Keiller Park on Woodrow Avenue about 10 a.m. Monday, told them he was a lawman and tried to lure them into a parked car so he could take photographs of them, according to the San Diego Police Department.
The two children were suspicious that he was not wearing a police officer uniform, and questioned him, SDPD Detective David Kean said.
"Thankfully, the children were suspicious of the man's behavior and did not follow him," Kean said. "Instead, they told an adult, who called (the police)."
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Kean said the girls did not see the vehicle the man was trying to get them into. There is no vehicle description.
The stranger, a roughly 5-foot-5-inch man with shoulder-length black hair, fled the area to the east before officers arrived at the park, Kean said.
“It scares me, it scares me a lot, said Marisela Carranda, who lives across the street from the park, which is also near a middle school. She has two grandkids, one is 14-year-old the other is 5 years old who sometimes walk past Keiller Park to visit her.
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“It's very scary. Someone posing as a police officer, that’s who we trust," Carranda told NBC 7. "To think they might be able to take somebody’s child or even our children."
Anyone who might be able to help investigators identify the man is asked to contact Kean at 619-527-3552 or dkean@pd.sandiego.gov.
