Stranger alert gets called off

By Jessica Ercolino, Staff Writer
   ROBBINSVILLE — Police have determined that a suspected stranger incident last week was an altruistic miscommunication.
   At 7:45 a.m. Oct. 21, Robbinsville police issued a “stranger alert” after a Pond Road Middle School student was approached by a man in a white pickup truck on Warrior Way in the Windswept residential development.
   The girl missed the bus and was returning home when the man in the truck offered her a ride to school, police said.
   The alert, describing the situation and the man’s features, was posted on the Robbinsville School District’s Web site (www.wtpsmercer.k12.nj.us), intended for “RESPONSIBLE ADULT EYES ONLY.”
   But police soon learned that the stranger was another Pond Road Middle School student’s grandfather looking to help out, Detective Sgt. Vince Estelle said.
   ”The student’s (grandfather) was taking her to school and saw that the other girl had missed the school bus,” he said. “He yelled out to her, ‘Hey, do you want a ride?’ but I guess she didn’t see the (granddaughter) in the car with him and panicked.”
   Detective Sgt. Estelle said the student’s mother heard about the alert and notified police that it had been her father who offered the girl a ride.
   ”It feels good to find out that that’s the truth behind the situation,” he said, adding that the man’s name was not going to be released. “He was just trying to do something nice.”
   The stranger alert was no longer posted on the district’s Web site at the end of last week. A note reading, “The Robbinsville Police have completed their investigation. A hard copy of the STRANGER ALERT will not need to be issued,” was posted in its place.
   Children are reminded to never respond to a stranger or approach a stranger’s vehicle. Anyone with questions or concerns about the situation can contact Robbinsville police at 609-259-3900.