Westwood Police set up roadblocks Thursday afternoon and Friday morning on Lafayette Avenue to stop drivers in their search for information about a luring incident Thursday morning, according to Police Chief Frank Regino. Police said the man may have been involved in other recent luring incidents around Bergen County.
At their roadblocks, police passed out flyers to drivers and asked if anyone had seen anything related to Thursday's incident. Regino estimated police had passed out 2,000 flyers.
A Westwood Jr./Sr. High School student reported a man had stopped and offered her a ride at about 7:10 a.m. Thursday while she was walking to school on Lafayette Avenue. There have been about a half-a-dozen reported luring incidents around Bergen County since two occured in Washington Township last month.
Regino said it was "a possibility" that the man involved in Thursday's incident had also been involved in other recent luring attempts around Bergen County, including those in Washington Township.
"Most are saying that the composite seems to resemble the one that happened in the township in September," Regino said.
Westwood Police were working with the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office and State Police to find the man, according to Regino.
Police described the man as being middle-aged and balding with a crew cut. He was driving a gray four-door hatchback with a NYPD sticker in the front left windshield.
Police are asking anyone with information about the incident to call them at 201-664-7000. Regino said the department's detectives would investigate every lead.
In addition to the Washington Township incidents, luring attempts have recently been reported in Oradell, Maywood, Hackensack and Ridgewood, among others. An attempted luring of a 17-year-old girl was reported in New Milford Thursday afternoon. Police there were also working on a sketch of the man involved in that incident.
The incidents prompted Orangetown Police to contact local schools Friday. The Pearl River School District and South Orangetown School District sent out email warnings.
