SMPD has received a third report of a suspicious person in the area of San Mateo High School

South San Francisco, CA November 14, 2014

South San Francisco Police issued a press release today seeking a suspect wanted in connection with a Child Annoyance incident which took place last Saturday at Costco on El Camino Real. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

This past week San Mateo Police have issued warnings of a suspicious person in the area of San Mateo High School on three separate occasions attempting to lure female students to his car. One of our ESC readers, Cynthia Marcopulos, has suggested the descriptions are similar so we are sharing the San Mateo Police Department information as well. As always, be aware of your surroundings at all times. SMPD also offer some good tips which we have shared below.

Please report ANY suspicious activity to POLICE right away via 911

NOVEMBER 13, 2014 MEDIA RELEASE / COMMUNITY ALERT
FROM THE CITY of SAN MATEO POLICE DEPARTMENT

SMPD has received two separate reports of a suspicious person in the area of San Mateo High School

On Wednesday, November 12th , SMPD received a late report of a suspicious person seen near San Mateo High School two days prior on Monday, November 10th, at around 8:00 AM. The male was reportedly parked in a vehicle along the west curb of North Delaware St. across from the school. A 16 year old female student was walking on the opposite side of the street when the male and sole occupant inside the vehicle asked her, “Good morning. Can I ask you a question?” The female wisely ignored the male who repeated his question. The male then urged her to come closer to his vehicle. The female continued to ignore him and walked into the school.

The male was reported to be a light-skinned, adult Asian male, 35-40 years old, bald with some hair on the sides, driving in a silver 4 door hatchback.

Then today, on November 13th, SMPD received a second late report of a suspicious person seen near San Mateo High School one week ago on or around November 6th at about 9:00 AM. In that instance, a separate 16 year old female parked her car on North Eldorado Street just south of the school. She noticed a suspicious male in a vehicle looking at her. The male then drove off briefly and seemed to drive around the block, returning moments later, now stopping alongside her as she exited her vehicle. The male said, “Good morning,” and the female ignored him and started walking towards San Mateo High School. As she reached the corner of Poplar Avenue and N. Delaware Street, the male drove alongside her again and asked, “What’s up?” Again she wisely ignored him and the male drove off.

The male in this instance was reported to be a Filipino male, in his 40’s, bald, and driving a white or light colored 4 door sedan, possibly a Toyota or a Honda.

SMPD wishes to commend both females for taking the appropriate action when confronted by a stranger. The male did not exit the vehicle or make any threats of any kind in either incident. However given the suspicious nature of both incidents SMPD will continue to investigate both events and make every effort to identify the suspect or suspects. The safety and security of our children and young adults in our community is paramount to our commitment to public safety and all investigative resources will be exhausted in this case. Your San Mateo Police Department is also working in close collaboration with the San Mateo Unified High School District and the San Mateo-Foster City School District as this investigation continues.

In the coming days, we anticipate a second community and media alert which will include a forensic sketch of the suspect.

FOR PARENTS OR GUARDIANS
Now would be an excellent time to review with the children or young adults in your life how to protect themselves during incidents like these. For those discussions, we offer the following safety tips:
• Look, listen, stay safe. Be aware of your surroundings when walking in public. Avoid distractions while walking such as books or electronics.
• Whenever possible use the buddy system. Urge your children to walk with a friend or friends. There’s safety in numbers.
• Watch out for strangers in cars. Watch for cars that follow you. NEVER approach a stranger in a car for ANY reason.
• If a stranger talks to you from a car or asks a question, ignore them, and walk or even run away.
• Yell and Tell. If a stranger makes you uncomfortable or scares you, YELL and run away. Find someone you trust and TELL them what happened.
• Trust your instincts. Only you get to decide when you’re uncomfortable or scared. Don’t be afraid to tell a stranger “No”, ignore them, or just run away!

NOVEMBER 14, 2014 UPDATED SMPD COMMUNITY AND MEDIA ALERT

We have received a third report of a suspicious man near San Mateo high school

Last night, after our initial press release, a similar incident occurred near San Mateo High School. At about 6:15 PM, at the San Mateo Adult School located at 789 East Poplar Avenue, just east of SMHS, a 19-year-old female student stepped outside to the parking lot to take a break. A male in a nearby parked vehicle exited the car and approached her. He greeted her and complimented her on her appearance. She ignored the male and he then offered her money to leave with him. She ignored him again and he repeated his request. The female continued to ignore him and walked back to the school, reporting the incident about two hours later.

The male in this incident is described as a Filipino or Asian adult male, about 30 years old, medium build, with short maybe even spiked hair on top and unshaven. In this third incident the vehicle is described as a dark blue or black foreign sedan.

Each of these three incidents is being investigated to the full extent and there are enough similarities in the three descriptions to believe it may be the same suspect. That being said, this investigation is the top priority for your San Mateo Police Department to ensure the safety and security of all our school campuses and their students. We continue to work with the school district in a collaborative effort to achieve that goal.

Again, your Police Department would encourage you to take this time to talk to children, teenagers, and young adults alike about the steps they can take to keep themselves safe when contacted by strangers. We would like to emphasize the importance of timely reporting in instances such as this which allows us to quickly and effectively respond to these incidents in our efforts to locate the suspect or suspects.

As expected, this investigation is ongoing and we will keep our community and the media abreast of any new developments. We are still anticipating the completion of a forensic sketch which will be released as soon as it is available.

MORE RESOURCES
National Crime Prevention Council
Kid Power