Police: Man stalked girl on walk home from Richland school

Richland residents are being warned to keep an eye out for a man who stalked and then tried to lure a 10-year-old girl as she walked home from school.

The girl was walking home from Jason Lee Elementary School just before 1 p.m. on Tuesday on Torbett Street when she noticed a white-colored pickup truck was following her, a release said. The girl told authorities she’d never before seen the man driving the truck before and described as having an average build and a beard.

At one point the man exited the truck and looked at her, causing the girl to feel unsafe and to run away. He got back in the truck and continued to follow her to her home “at which time he yelled to her as she entered the house, ‘Hey, come here, your mom wants me to pick you up.’”

The incident was reported to police on Wednesday and the investigation is ongoing. Anyone who sees the suspicious man or witnesses a similar incident should call 509-628-0333.

This story was originally published May 5, 2016 at 8:08 AM with the headline "Police: Man stalked girl on walk home from Richland school."