Shelbyville Police: Man tried taking girl from bus stop

SHELBYVILLE, Ind. (WISH) - The city of Shelbyville is on high alert Tuesday, after a nine year old girl says a man tried to grab her at the bus stop.

It happened just before 8 AM on the corner of Sunset Drive and Miller Street in Shelbyville.

“He actually had reached out and grabbed her and tried to get her, what we believe, to leave with him,” said Lt. Michael Turner with Shelbyville Police.

The girl’s mom says she was able to pull away and run to her grandma's house. Someone called 911, and the man took off running.

According to the girl, the man was white, about 5-foot-8, had a heavy build and might be elderly.. He was bald with a scar on his right arm. He had a ring on his left hand and was wearing sweatpants, a T-shirt and wasn’t wearing shoes.

Police responded but weren't immediately able to track him down. Now they say they’re relying on the public to keep their eyes open. The school district sent out an alert to all parents Tuesday afternoon.

Some mothers living nearby say their daughters saw a man fitting a similar description earlier this week.

“She came home from school, and the first word that came out her mouth was that an older man, a heavy set guy had approached her. My five year old out there at the bus stop,” said Jessica Stickles, a Shelbyville mom.

“My daughter gets on the bus for the first pickup, and she had seen him,” said Scarlett Herzog, another Shelbyville mom. “He just stops, and just stares.”

Police say they’re taking this situation seriously, because it happens so rarely, and because other children were standing at the bus stop that saw this happen.

“We're a small enough community, and this doesn’t happen a lot. So when it does happen, we want to step up, to show the community we are taking this seriously,” added Lt. Turner.

Turner said police are stepping up patrols at all Shelbyville bus stops. “We make it a daily practice to patrol those bus stops, but you may see more police out there patrolling heavily,” he said. Police are also asking parents to keep a closer eye on children heading out to bus stops.

24-Hour News 8 did speak to the little girl’s mother, who said her daughter is doing alright. Mom says she’ll be driving her daughter to school from now on.

If you know who this man may be, police are asking you to call Shelbyville police at (317) 392-2511.