The Charles County Sheriff’s Office has identified the man who was described in a report of suspicious activity that occurred yesterday morning at a bus stop at the intersection of Normandie Woods Drive and Charles Street in La Plata, and has determined the man was not involved in malicious activity.
The investigation began at 8:40 a.m. when a woman called the CCSO to report that she observed a man in a sport-utility vehicle stop at the bus stop, lower his passenger-side window and initiate a conversation with her six-year-old son, who was waiting at the stop alone. The woman, who had been watching her son from a location nearby, ran to the vehicle and confronted the driver, who reportedly said he was seeking directions. Shortly thereafter she observed the vehicle return to the area and turn into the Clark’s Run neighborhood after the school bus had departed with the boy.
The woman called the CCSO to report her concerns and provided a description of the man and the SUV. The CCSO notified the community of the incident via a press release and social media posts and less than two hours later, after reading the reports, the man in the SUV contacted the investigating officer. The officer determined the man, who lives nearby, had pulled over near the bus stop to use his cell phone to find directions to another location. He left the stop after the woman confronted him. When she saw him the second time, he had made a U-turn and was returning home to continue his search for directions. The man did not speak with the child.
Officer M. Hancock investigated.
Media Contact
Kristen Timko
301-609-6538
timkok@ccso.us