WINTER SPRINGS, Fla. — Winter Springs police are alerting parents to be on the lookout for a man who tried to lure a 9-year-old boy Tuesday into his pickup truck with the promise of ice cream.
The incident happened outside the boy’s grandmother’s house in the North Orlando Ranch subdivision.
The grandmother, who did not want to release her name, said her grandson got a good description of the man who approached him.
"He has his ups and downs about it and stuff but it's very scary," she said.
The boy’s grandmother said her grandson is still shaken up over the incident.
She said the boy was outside with his two cousins riding their scooters when the man in a pickup truck pulled up.
"My grandson and all of them came running inside with their scooters and just said, ‘Nana, some guy just pulled up and asked me if I wanted to go get ice cream with him.’"
The man drove away after the boy told him no, but not before the child got a good look at him.
The man was described as being between the ages of 26 and 34, without facial hair.
"He said the guy had shortish, kind of short hair, but that he had green hair on the very top of his head," she said.
The truck he was driving was possibly a dirty, white two-door Chevy with a slightly faded paint job, and the headlights had a blue tint to them, the boy said.
Police arrived within minutes, searched the area, but found nothing.
"Wherever he got the training, he made the right decision and we are proud of him," said Winter Springs police Chief Kevin Brunelle said.
Brunelle said police do not know what the man's intentions were, but have alerted other agencies in the area to be on alert.
"You are extremely stupid if you go up to a child in today's world and ask them if they want to get ice cream, which you have no business approaching somebody else’s children, and asking these types of questions," said Brunelle.
The grandmother alerted her neighbors and went on social media to spread the word.
Police said it's important for parents to talk to their children about stranger danger as early as possible.