Algonquin police: Stranger in white van approached girl

Algonquin police are on the hunt for a man who approached an 11-year-old girl while he was driving a white van, Deputy Chief Ed Urban said.

Just before 5 p.m. Sunday, a clean-shaven, white man pulled up to the girl in front of her home on Foster Circle near Sleepy Hollow Road, and told her to get in, police said.

The girl instead ran inside her home and told her parents, police said.

The man had brown hair and was wearing a V-neck shirt, police said. He had no accent, is between 33 and 37 years old and was driving a van with a silver ladder on top.

“We’re considering this legitimate,” Urban said. “We have nothing to indicate this would be a joke or a hoax.”

Algonquin has had several reports this year of men in vans approaching children all over town.

In late August, a black man driving a maroon van pulled up to a girl and asked her if she wanted a ride home, police said.

Last spring, there were two separate reports of men in white vans pulling up to children, as well as two others that involved men in cars, Urban said.

“We can’t link (Sunday’s incident) to any of those incidents, nor could we link all those incidents to each other, just based on the descriptions,” Urban said.

No arrests have been made in any of those cases, Urban said.

Police are asking that parents review safety plans with their children and encourage them not to get into a vehicle with an adult they don’t know, unless it’s part of the safety plan.

If you have information about any of these cases or know of any others, police ask that you call their nonemergency number at (847) 658-4531.