Arlington Heights police issue alerts about 'suspicious' incidents
Arlington Heights police on Friday issued two citizen alerts about "suspicious" incidents involving children and drivers of pickup trucks.
Police believe the cases are not related, even though they occurred about the same time on Thursday afternoon.
In the first alert, police said a man in a blue pickup truck stopped two boys walking past the Marathon gas station, at 102 W. Northwest Hwy., between 3 and 3:15 p.m.
The man offered the boys money to clean out the bed of his truck by taking trash and placing it in two large blue plastic barrels that were also in the truck bed. When one of the boys got into the bed of the truck and began cleaning, the man stood behind the vehicle and started taking pictures, according to Cmdr. Mike Hernandez.
The man later motioned to the boy to get out of the truck bed, and then drove away headed southeast on Northwest Highway.
The man, whom police are calling a "suspicious person," is described as Hispanic or Middle Eastern, 6 feet tall, 250 pounds, with a short dark colored beard. He was wearing a white hooded sweatshirt. His vehicle is a 2014 blue Chevy pickup truck with chrome wheels, and it was least seen with the two blue plastic barrels in the truck bed.
Police issued a second alert for the report of a "suspicious vehicle" that stopped near a teenager at 3:10 p.m. at the corner of Happfield Drive and Ridge Avenue. A witness reported that the teenager was walking westbound on Happfield when a 2005 blue GMC or Chevrolet pickup truck, facing east in the westbound lanes, stopped near the teenager.
The witness didn't see or hear the driver communicate with the teenager. The vehicle made a U-turn, and left westbound on Happfield, police said.
No description of the driver was available.
Hernandez said police have a few leads and are planning to interview some people who may have information about the cases.
Anyone with information about either encounter is asked to contact Arlington Heights police at (847) 590-7867.