A man who approached three young girls in the Woods Edge development on April 20, and reportedly tried to lure them into a car, turned out to be a resident looking for his lost dog, police said.
By: Leon Tovey
MONROE Police said a man who reportedly tried to lure three children into a car in the Woods Edge development on April 20 really was just looking for his dog.
Detective Sgt. Lawrence Linke said Thursday morning that the man, a resident of Julia Avenue, where the incident occurred, contacted police Wednesday after reading a newspaper report about the incident.
"Apparently the guy works for a contractor, he got a call that his dog was missing and went looking for it in the contractor’s truck," Sgt. Linke said.
The incident occurred at about 5 p.m. April 20, when the man and a coworker pulled up to a house on Julia Avenue in a light-blue SUV and asked an 11-year-old girl and two 10-year-old girls playing in the driveway if they would help him find his puppy, Sgt. Linke said.
The girls went into the house and the two men drove away, police said. Sgt. Linke said the man found his dog on Louise Drive later that day.
There were three incidents in 2004 and 2005 where strange men reportedly tried to lure children into their cars at school bus stops.
School Superintendent Ralph Ferrie sent a letter home with students Tuesday notifying parents about the incident, which he said he learned about through an e-mail from a parent Sunday. After confirming the report with Police Chief John Kraivec Monday morning, Dr. Ferrie wrote the letter and posted it on the district’s Web site, http://monroe.k12.nj.us.
Sgt. Linke said Tuesday that he did not know why district officials were not notified about the incident until Dr. Ferrie contacted the chief.

