Mysterious incident leaves police, parents concerned

Deepa Bharath

Police say they don’t know what to make of a report that a man

stopped his car in a Dover Shores neighborhood and asked a 9-year-old

boy to help him look for his dog.

Lt. John Klein said the incident was reported on Monday in the

1900 block of Holiday Road.

“The child went back in his house and did not respond,” he said.

“And that was the right thing for the boy to do.”

Klein said the man was reportedly in his 60s, with white hair. He

was driving a dark-colored car. No further description is available,

he said.

“We don’t know what the motive is in this case,” Klein said.

“We’ve had no other similar cases in our city, no victims.”

He said the incident may have scared people because of its eerie

similarity to the Samantha Runnion case last year, in which a Stanton

girl was kidnapped from her home, assaulted and murdered. In that

case, the suspect is said to have snatched her away from outside her

apartment complex after asking if she would help look for his dog.

Klein said Newport Beach detectives are talking to police officers

in other cities to find out if they have had similar incidents in

their cities. He said the department did not see the need to warn the

public or cause panic before anything had been established.

“In any situation, it’s important for parents to have the

stranger-danger talk with their kids,” Klein said. “They should know

never to stop and talk to a stranger.”

Neighbor Marena Padden said she and other parents are “very

concerned.”

“Our kids play outside all the time,” she said. “This is scary for

us.”

Padden said she believes the police must have informed parents in

the area.

“This is a real threat,” she said. “This could have been a failed

attempt.”