CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Neighbors in several Charlotte neighborhoods say a man has been targeting teenage girls. Those who’ve encountered him say he drives slowly through the neighborhoods then tries to lure teenage girls over to his car by asking for directions.
The girls described the man as a white male in his 60s, shirtless, with a tattoo on his right shoulder. All have said he has been driving a grayish-blue Chevy Equinox with a South Carolina license plate.
The first reported encounter occurred on Sept. 6, according to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department records. Jeffrey White said his neighbor’s 17-year-old daughter was out for a run along Hampton Avenue in Myers Park when the man approached her and attempted to lure her over to his car.
“Luckily she had the presence of mind to take off running and that was the end of it,” said White.
But that wouldn’t be the end of it.
White said the car was spotted in the neighborhood five days later on Saturday, Sept. 11, and then again on Sunday.
“Twenty-four hours later, yeah… parked right around the corner,” White said.
So White posted to Nextdoor, hoping to alert surrounding neighborhoods, never expecting the responses he would receive.
In total, nearly a half dozen other teen girls say they were approached by the same man, including Lori Welke’s daughter.
“She was just taking our dog out for a walk in our neighborhood,” Welke said.
Welke said it happened Saturday on Wickersham Drive in Barclay Downs. Her daughter said the older man drove slow, passing her three or four times before stopping to ask for directions.
“She told him where to go and he kept saying, 'Can you come closer, can you come closer I want to see it on your phone,'” Welke said.
When her daughter stepped closer, however, she said she noticed the man was naked and quickly ran home. Welke said she notified police but never knew how widespread it was until she saw White’s post on Nextdoor.
“So, once I realized it was happening to multiple people and that he was returning to the same areas I was getting a little panicked and just concerned for other young girls,” she said.
Welke said she’s since reminded her daughter of the importance of not talking to strangers, even if she’s just trying to be nice and help someone out with directions.
“I would just say for any child, if any adult is asking you for instructions you don’t need to be helping them do that, they can go ask another adult, just direct them to an adult, kids don’t need to be doing that,” she said.
WCNC Charlotte crews saw a CMPD patrol car in the neighborhood on Monday afternoon. Right now, the man’s exact motive is unclear, but neighbors say they want to spread the word, to warn all parents and teens to stay on alert.
Contact Ashley Daley at adaley@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.