Man Arrested After Attempting To Lure Two Edina Girls Into Vehicle
The Star Tribune reported a Faribault, Minn., man was placed in jail Wednesday after allegedly approaching two girls in Edina, on separate occasions, and attempting to lure them in to his vehicle, authorities said.
The man, 21, approached an 8-year-old girl and then another on Tuesday and asked them to get in his vehicle and show him how to get to Concord Elementary School.
District spokesman Doug Johnson said both girls refused and went home to alert their parents.
Jeff Long, Edina deputy police chief, said the girls were walking home from school when the man approached them.
According to Kare 11, a teenage boy stopped his car after spotting one of the girls speaking with the man and an Edina mother, Erica Oberlein, followed the vehicle to get the license plate number before calling the police.
“I'm glad this teen had the foresight to stop and ask the guy what he was doing," Oberlein said. "Had he not, I would not have stopped."
The police found and arrested the suspect on suspicion of attempted kidnapping.
The man told authorities he was simply looking for directions.
"The problem we saw with that was that he claimed he talked to a couple people, including a man, but we have not had anyone step forward to say that,“ Long said.
Long said the suspect has a criminal history that includes burglary and assault.