Franconia Parents On Lookout For Suspicious Man

In Virginia, parents are on alert after four incidents were reported involving a suspicious man in a red pick-up truck around schools in the Franconia area of Fairfax County. In the latest incident on Tuesday, a man allegedly got out of his truck and told a Mark Twain Middle School student to get into his vehicle. The child said no and ran away.

According to a school newsletter, on the morning of Monday, Dec. 19, student safety patrol officers from Clermont Elementary say they spotted a man sitting in a truck nearby. They say he returned the next morning and the following day -- that's when the students say the man got out of his truck and waved to them.

The children ran away.

"Well, it's something that every parent worries about; something we talked to our children about from a young age and I hope they would know what to do in that kind of a situation, but obviously I'm keeping a closer eye on them," says Marcy Selander, who has four children at Clermont Elementary. 

According to the school newsletter, the suspect is described as a possibly hispanic man aged 30 to 35. He was driving an older model red pickup truck with the letters L-M-E in the license plate. 

The school has scheduled a Community Safety meeting with police at 7:30 p.m. Thursday to address issues including "stranger danger."