3 recent incidents of adults suspiciously approaching children appear to be linked, Prince George RCMP say
Police say all events involved men driving white vans
The RCMP is asking anyone with information regarding three separate events involving men suspiciously approaching children in Prince George B.C., to come forward to police.
Since the beginning of June, police say they've received three reports of men in white vans approaching children in the Hart neighbourhood of the city.
In all three of the reports, police say the men asked the children to help them with their keys.
Just after 8 a.m. on June 1, police received a report of two men exiting a white, older model cargo van with no rear windows and approaching a nine-year-old boy.
The men reportedly told the boy their keys were broken and asked him for help. The boy ran from the men and the van was reported to leave the area, police say.
One man was is thought by police to be roughly 30 years old, white, with short blond hair and a long blond beard.
The second man appeared to be Indigenous with long, black, braided hair, reports say.
Then, at 10:00 a.m. on June 5, police received another report that a man had tried to get two teenaged boys into a white van by asking them for help finding his keys inside the vehicle.
This second incident is believed to have happened outside Heather Park Elementary School. Police say the two boys were seen running away from the van before it quickly left the area.
Police say the suspect in the second event was described as having long brown hair and a beard.
A third event at approximately 12:45 p.m. on June 21 is also similar, say police.
In the third incident, police received a report of an adult man driving a white van approaching Hart Highlands Elementary School over the lunch hour.
The man asked a child to help him find his keys, say police.
The child did not respond to the man's advances, returned to the school and reported the encounter.
"They were asking for help regarding keys to some extent but I don't want to focus people's attention on that," said Prince George RCMP Operations Officer Shaun Wright.
"If there are other incidents out there, it may be a little bit different. It may not refer to keys."
While the descriptions of the different suspects don't match, Wright said that's not uncommon when taking reports from children as they are often not overly detailed.
"The descriptions do vary somewhat, but we feel there is enough similarity that these incidents are likely linked."
Police want to remind the public that it is not appropriate to approach school-aged children not known to you.
The investigation into the encounters is ongoing, say police, and anyone with information is asked to contact Prince George RCMP.
Those wishing to remain anonymous can contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
With files from Daybreak North