Grandview police warn of sexual predator luring preteen from area park

By Betsy Webster

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    GRANDVIEW, Missouri (KCTV) — Police in Grandview are trying to catch a man who reportedly lured a child from a park Thursday morning and sexually assaulted her.

They’re also investigating an indecent exposure just the day before that could be related.

KCTV5′s Betsy Webster talked to police and those who live nearby.

It happened in Meadowmere Park. Police say the man asked a preteen girl for help finding a lost pet. She agreed, and he led her from an open area of the park to a concealed one where he, in the words of police, “had the child perform a sex act on him.” The girl’s mother went to police shortly before noon, which police say was soon after it happened.

“We poured all of our patrol and detectives out into the area,” said Det. Sgt. Dean VanWinkle.

He said they searched for several hours, but it appears enough time had passed that the man was gone.

There’s an elementary school just a quarter mile from the west side of the park.

Cheryl Hooper picked up her great niece this afternoon and noticed a big police presence both at the school and in the neighborhood.

“She was telling me that the school was on a soft lockdown, but I talked to her mom and they got a text saying it was on hard lockdown. She also said that some teachers were walking some kids home,” Hooper described.

The alarm is heightened by another incident the day before involving what police say might be the same man.

“That person somewhat fits the description of who we’re looking for on this today,” said VanWinkle. “That person opened his pickup truck door and exposed himself to a teenage child walking on the sidewalk.”

That was on Wednesday near 128th and Overhill, which is 1 to 2 miles from the park.

Police said the preteen at the park described a white man in his 50s with short blonde hair. She said he was about 6 feet tall with a medium build, and was wearing a black shirt and blue jeans. The teen said the man who exposed himself was in a newer model black pickup, possibly a Chevy Colorado.

Police want to know if anyone sees anything suspicious, but their number one message is to have a chat with your youngsters.

“Adults don’t need to ask little children for help looking for their pets. If somebody’s doing that, then they’re up to no good. That’s one of the main points we want to get out to the public,” said VanWinkle.

He said the man is bold enough that he’s confident police will catch him. Hooper isn’t as optimistic but had a chat with her great niece as soon as she heard.

“He’s probably long gone,” she said. “But, I was telling my great niece. I asked her, ‘What do you do when somebody comes up to you and goes, “Oh, help me find a lost puppy?”’”

Her great niece, who is 10, knew the right answer immediately.

“I will try to get as far away from him as I can and scream for help,” the 10-year-old said.

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