St. Albert RCMP have warned parents to be cautious after a suspicious man approached a young girl earlier this week.

Officials said the 7-year-old girl was walking home from Vital Grandin School on Sunset Boulevard around 11 a.m. Wednesday when she was approached by the man in a silver four-door car.

He asked the girl if she needed a ride but she ran home and immediately told an adult about the incident.

The man has been described as:

  • Caucasion
  • Between 30 and 40-years-old
  • Short brown hair
  • Brown beard
  • Tattoos on forearms

Police have advised parents to talk to their children about staying safe, not to talk to strangers and what to do if a stranger approaches them.

RCMP have asked parents and caregivers to teach children:

  • To know their full name, age, telephone number, area code, city and province.
  • How to contact you, or another close relative in an emergency.
  • How to contact a trusted neighbour, police, fire or ambulance services (911) and when to make these calls.
  • When children are home alone they should not answer the phone unless they know who is calling or tell phone callers that you are there, but you are busy and cannot come to the phone
  • When children are home alone, find out the identity of the person who comes to the door, without opening the door.  If a stranger is at the door, teach your children to tell the stranger that your are busy, and he/she should go away and come back later. Teach your child not to engage in conversation with the visitor.  If the child feels threatened, teach him to phone an emergency number.
  • Where possible, your children should play and walk with other children.
  • Your children should always ask your permission before accepting gifts from strangers.
  • To avoid situations where strangers may approach your child alone, such as an unsupervised play area, empty lots, abandoned buildings, and/or bushy area of parks et/al.
  • To run home or to the nearest public place, or a Block Parent home, if someone is following or frightening your child.
  • If someone follows your child in a car, they should turn around and get away. Run home or to a Block Parent home or the nearest public place such as a school, store, or office. Your child should also try to remember what the driver and car looked like or its license number.
  • That adults, especially strangers, rarely ask children for help in finding things, or for directions. Explain to your child that both men and women are strangers.
  • If your child becomes separated from you in a store or shopping mall, to go directly to a store employee or cashier for help.
  • That police officers who wear uniforms are their friends and that they can be trusted if your child is in trouble. It is for this reason that you should never use the police as a threat to your child. This will confuse their image of the police.