Sketch released of suspect in Port Townsend child luring attempts

PORT TOWNSEND -- Police on Thursday released a sketch of a suspect reported to have approached an 11-year-ld boy on Oct. 2 near Blue Heron Middle School in a child luring attempt.

The boy reported he was approached about 8 a.m. on a trail in the area of Haines and 33nd streets and offered candy by an older man. King County Sheriff’s Office detective Robin Fry created the sketch after an interview with the boy.

The boy described scruffy white facial hair and a gauged plug-style earring in the man’s right ear. The man was missing his front teeth. He wore a blue baseball cap with a green Oakland Athletics logo, a dirty white T-shirt and dirty blue jeans. The man was driving a white full-size van that had no windows, according to the boy.

A second attempting luring incident was reported to have occurred a week later, at 8 a.m. on Oct. 9. In that incident, an 11-year-old girl was riding her bicycle on San Juan Avenue about six blocks south of the school, 3939 San Juan Avenue. She described a white van stopping, pulling into the bicycle lane blocking her path. The driver rolled down the passenger-side window and told the girl her mother instructed him to give her a ride to school. When the girl realized the man didn’t know her mother’s name, she rode away.

The girl reported the white van had three windows down the side and two on the back doors. The windows were described as being hard to look through, possibly because obstructions inside. The man appeared to be in his 50s, according to the girl. He was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt low over his face. He had no visible facial hair, but had a pierced nose.

Despite some discrepancies in the descriptions, the incidents are currently being investigated as if they’re related.

No additional reports of child luring attempts have been made since the Oct. 9 incident, police said.

Investigators are asking members the public to examine the police sketch closely. If the man looks familiar, reports can be made by calling Port Townsend police detective McBride at (360) 390-8938.

If a suspicious person or van is spotted in the area of children, the situation should be immediately reported by calling 911, police said.