Police: Another report of attempt to lure student into car

Deputies are investigating a second report of an attempt by young men to lure a South County middle school student into a vehicle and trying to determine if the incidents were pranks, an Orange County Sheriff’s Department official said Tuesday.

The second report came from a 12-year-old boy who said he was approached by a large, white SUV with more than two occupants as he was riding his bicycle near Trabuco Mesa Elementary School in Rancho Santa Margarita, Sgt. Nancy Wilkey said. The boy was asked to stop riding his bike, but he kept bicycling and the driver took off, Wilkey said. The incident happened about 3:05p.m. Friday.

At about 3:20 p.m. Friday, two young men in a sedan approached a 13-year-old girl near Chaparral Elementary School in Ladera Ranch, Wilkey said. The girl told authorities the young men asked her to help them look for a missing puppy, and, when she declined, they offered her candy. She again declined and kept walking home. The girl described the vehicle as a white Infiniti, Wilkey said.

Though the incident in Rancho happened first, it was reported after the incident in Ladera.

In both situations, the driver was described as a white, teenage male with shaggy, light-colored hair, police said. That is where the similarity between the incidents ends, Wilkey said. The boy and the girl were re-interviewed Tuesday, and police patrolled the areas after school but didn’t find anything suspicious, she said.

There was no physical attempt to force the students into the vehicles, Wilkey said. Investigators believe that the incidents occurred and the reports are credible, Wilkey added, “but based on the information, we’re still really looking at it to see if it was pranks or determine whether or not there should be concern.”

She said officials do not think there is a threat to the community, but the investigation is active.

“We’ll work it until we’ve exhausted any possible leads that we have,” she said. “There’s going to be high visibility patrols in the area to make sure the kids feel safe.”