Girls at play in Dayton report men try to lure them into car

DAYTON — A great-grandmother said she is relieved an important safety lesson sunk in after four girls reported that men tried to lure them into their car over the weekend.

The girls said there were playing Saturday afternoon outside the Almond Village Apartments in the city’s Residence Park neighborhood when not one, but two different vehicles came down the driveway, acting in ways that had them running to the nearest adult, according to a Dayton police report.

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“It’s a shame that you have to actually bolt yourself in your house,” great-grandmother Arnetta Roebuck said.

On Saturday afternoon, her great-granddaughter and three friends, all between 9 and 12, were outside playing when a white van pulled up.

“They said that the guys just sat there in front of the building, looking at them,” Roebuck said.

According to the police report, the men inside watched them for a short time before leaving. Almost immediately, a blue car pulled up.

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One of the girls said a man in that car began gesturing for her to come to him as he was opening the car door slightly, the police report stated.

At that point, all four girls ran to Roebuck’s door.

“Eyes all big, out of breath,” is how she described the girls when they reached her apartment.

She immediately called the police.

Roebuck said the whole situation has made her uneasy. “I don’t like it at all. If you don’t know these kids ... I mean what reason would you have to call them?”

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She is relieved nothing bad happened, but there is one thing that makes her happy: that the children paid attention to lessons on staying away from strangers, and getting help from an adult.

“’Cause I know they’re listening. That’s the main thing,” she said.

Dayton police were able to get a fairly detailed description of the blue car. So far, there’s no word of any arrests.