PORT TOWNSEND — The Port Townsend police have released a sketch of a man they suspect in two child luring attempts near Blue Heron Middle School this month and are asking the public’s help in finding him.
King County Sheriff’s Office Detective Robin Fry created the sketch after an interview with an 11-year-old boy who reported he was approached by the man on Oct. 2.
The boy, sixth-grader Ashton Hoye — who police did not identify to the Peninsula Daily News but his mother did — said the man offered him candy on a trail near Haines and 33nd streets at about 8 a.m.
The boy said the man had scruffy white facial hair, a gauged plug-style earring in his right ear and was missing his front teeth.
The man wore a blue baseball cap with a green Oakland Athletics logo and a dirty white T-shirt and dirty blue jeans, the boy said, and was driving a white full-size van that had no windows.
A second attempting luring incident was reported to have occurred a week later at 8 a.m. Oct. 9.
An 11-year-old girl, who police did not identify, was riding her bicycle on San Juan Avenue about six blocks south of the middle school at 3939 San Juan Ave.
She described a white van pulling into the bicycle lane and stopping, 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, the girl said.
When the girl realized the man didn’t know her mother’s name, she rode away, said Officer Luke Bogues, Port Townsend Police Department spokesman.
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 of 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 being investigated as related. Police think both child luring attempts were by the same man.
Port Townsend Police Department detectives and officers have followed up on dozens of tips called in by citizens and other law enforcement agencies since the reports were made, Bogues said.
The sketch, created last week, was used to compare against a man believed to be a person of interest, Bogues said.
The man was interviewed Oct. 24 and is no longer believed to be connected to this case, Bogues said.
Officers have increased patrols in the area of Blue Heron and other locations juveniles gather, he said.
No additional reports of child luring attempts have been made since the Oct. 9 incident.
Police did not identify either of the children. Ashton’s identity was voluntarily disclosed to the PDN by his mother, Shannon Callahan.
Investigators are asking members the public to examine the police sketch closely. If the man looks familiar, reports can be made by calling Detective Devin McBride at 360-390-8938.
If a suspicious person or van is spotted in the area of children, call 9-1-1.
