WEST PARIS — Police said they are on the hunt for a man who reportedly came to a West Paris home posing as a driver for SAD 17 and attempted to pick up a student Wednesday morning.
According to Capt. Christopher Wainwright of the Oxford County Sheriff’s Office, investigators are chasing down several possible leads and are taking the investigation very seriously.
The man is described as a white male in his 60s, with a thin build and a moustache. He was driving a newer-model red Jeep Liberty or similar vehicle, Wainwright said.
The incident was reported by a parent Wednesday morning after a man knocked on the door of her Main Street residence and said the school had sent him to transport her child, Wainwright said.
The man left after the parent refused. He may have attempted the same thing at a nearby house after being turned away, Wainwright said.
The parent reported the incident to the Paris Elementary School principal, and the Oxford County Sheriff’s Office quickly responded to the scene, he said.
In a letter to parents and guardians sent Wednesday, SAD 17 Assistant Superintendent Patrick Hartnett said the school district does not make a practice of transporting students in private vehicles. On the rare instances private vehicles are used, parents are told well in advance, Hartnett said.
Personal safety is routinely discussed with students at school and parents are encouraged to talk to their children about personal safety issues, Hartnett said.
“The school district takes these matters seriously. Student safety is of paramount importance and we continue to work with law enforcement to address this matter,” Hartnett said.
Investigators are working all avenues in the case, including combing through lists of local sex offenders and matching them to their registered vehicles and reviewing surveillance tapes from nearby convenience stores in an effort to identify a suspect, Wainwright said.
Anyone with information for the Sheriff’s Office is encouraged to contact its investigation unit through Oxford County Regional Communications Center at 743-9554 or leave an anonymous tip at the Oxford County Sheriff’s Office website.
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