Linda Seida

By: centraljersey.com
WEST AMWELL – Police are on the lookout for a vehicle that was used in a suspicious incident Valentine’s Day, frightening a 12-year-old boy along Route 179.
The boy was gathering mail from his family’s mailbox at about 5:15 p.m. in the 1400 block of Route 179 when the vehicle and its driver behaved oddly, police said.
The boy saw the vehicle pull over onto the shoulder of the road, just south of his driveway. The driver allowed two other vehicles to pass him before reentering the highway and pulling slowly past the boy. As he drove by, the driver yelled out, "Inside."
The vehicle then drove north. It made a U-turn to return and drive past the boy’s house again. The driver left at a "normal rate of speed," police said, and he did not return.
According to police, the driver made no overt attempt to grab the boy, and he did not get out of his vehicle. Also, police said, the driver did not roll down any of the vehicle’s windows.
The driver’s behavior was suspicious enough for police to alert local school districts of the incident. As a result of the warning, both West Amwell Elementary School and Lambertville Public School posted the police warning on their respective websites.
Immediately following the incident, police sent out a countywide broadcast, advising local police departments the vehicle should be stopped and held if spotted. Police also began keeping a closer eye on local schools.
"Police will have stepped up presence in the area of the school during times when students are arriving and leaving," the police notice to schools said.
Police said they do not have a description of the driver.
The description of the vehicle is vague. It is a "four-door, white, possibly mid-sized vehicle with New Jersey straw-colored license plates unknown. The vehicle was described by the child as having tinted windows "all around."
West Amwell police and detectives from the Hunterdon County prosecutor’s office continue to investigate.
West Amwell police Lt. Stephen Bartzak did not return a call seeking additional information.