Readers bkshyrbrrb
— Normally I don’t put entire news stories on my site, but this time I must. Without seeing every word, you might be tempted to believe I edited out the important parts — like any evidence whatsoever that something truly nefarious had just transpired. So here goes. This is from WKYT in Kentucky (boldface mine):
WILMORE, Ky. (WKYT) –A neighborhood is on high alert after an unknown man approached a young girl.
It happened at the intersection of Creekside Drive and Butler Boulevard in the Meadows subdivision in WIlmore.
WKYT’s Sam Smith talked to several people in the area and they say it’s alarming. Some neighbors tell us they took extra precautions this morning as they sent their kids to school.
Police say some time between 5:00 and 5:30 Monday evening a man, driving a black SUV with tinted windows, approached a young girl.
Police do not know what his intentions were and say he never left the SUV. Police also do not know who he is.
The notion of a strange man approaching a young girl is unsettling for folks in the neighborhood. Fortunately, nothing happened.
Police are taking the matter seriously and will try to find the man involved.
“You never hear of stuff like that. You hear of other crimes, like break ins and that. You don’t hear of abductions,” Bonnie Riddle, a neighbor, said.
Police will have an added presence in this area for the next several days.
They describe the driver as a black man in his 20’s with short hair and a muscular build.
What incredible good luck that this man did not turn out to be the devil incarnate! Or perhaps he IS and is just biding his time…till Halloween, or as I like to call it, “Ghouls Gone Wild.” Â – LÂ
Save us from strangers who drive utility vehicles!Â
You never hear of stuff like that. You hear of other crimes, like break ins and that. You don’t hear of abductions,†Bonnie Riddle, a neighbor, said.
How is that relevant ? No one was kidnapped. No crime was even committed. How did he even approach the girl if he never left the car?
Everyone should click through to the article on the WKYT site. It has a helpful picture of what an approaching SUV might look like, helpfully named WILMORE+CREEPER.jpg.
“Excuse me young lady.I’m new in town,could you point me in the direction of downtown Wilmore?” is something he may of had an intention to ask. “Police do not know what his intentions were and say he never left the SUV.” O.k…so whats the hype all for? What law was broken? The only crime I see here is the use of taxpayers money by their local P.D to search for a man that has broken no law.
Sigh….let the fear mongering begin. Or I should say, resume. Not to play the race card but I’m wondering if race came into play here. After all it was a big bad black man who approached the little girl!
@sloan44….of course no law was broken but don’t forget, this happened in the United States where the constitution is completely thrown out when it involves a man approaching a child. A knife wielding terrorist would have more rights than this person will assuming they find him.
Sort of goes along with the last post about parenting in America, its because of situations like THIS that people don’t want to get involved with other kids.
Few people WANT to end up as a news story.
This is a large part in why I don’t want kids. I won’t be able to deal with these idiots.
How exactly did he “approach a young girl” if he never left his SUV? Did he move over to the curb? Did he speak to her? Did he jump the curb?
How young was the girl? What caused the alarm?
What’s truly scary about this is that the man is not known. He is a mystery. He embodies all our fears about unknown spirits in black vehicles. Perhaps this black SUV will morph into a black helicopter. That will kill Santa’s reindeer. That would be horrible.
“You never hear of stuff like that. You hear of other crimes, like break ins and that.” WHAT CRIME? Really, I’m starting to despair.
What does “approached” mean? Did anybody ask the girl what he did or said?
Newsalert!!!
Something might or might not have happened to someone or something somewhere here or there.
Wait a freaking minute……….. a black SUV? I thought we only had to worry about unknown men in white windowless vans? This is getting out of hand. Next thing you know kidnappers will be driving VW Beetles…..the horror!!!!!!!!!!
I think you overlooked the important part. He was black.
I wonder what “approach” means? Did he just slow down, or did he pull up alongside her, or did he almost hit her? How exactly do you approach someone with a car?
I guarantee this man slowed down to read a street sign or check a text message or something and didn’t even notice the girl. He’s probably at home with his family thinking that he hopes they catch that crazy guy.
I overheard a man on the commuter train yesterday saying he called 911 because when he left his house in the morning, there was a white windowless van with men in it idling on the street. He was convinced that they were waiting for someone to leave their house so that they could burglarize it, so he stuck around until the police showed up and then left without finding out what was going on.
I wonder, how did the 911 operator take it when he said his “emergency” was that there was a white van parked on the street? Also, what exactly did the police say to the men? What kind of crime were they committing? It’s disheartening to me that they even came out–one would think the police wouldn’t want to waste their time for something silly like this.
Also, one would think criminals are going to get smart and choose to drive drive a silver ford focus or toyota camry or some other ridiculously common vehicle, because the white windowless van apparently attracts unwanted attention. Funnily enough, I actually drive a black SUV.
“You never hear of stuff like that. You hear of other crimes, like break ins and that. You don’t hear of abductions,†Bonnie Riddle, a neighbor, said.”
Umm…that’s a GOOD thing. Because you know it rarely or never happens. So why freak out about something that rarely or ever happens. This is paranoia at work. No different than seeing shadows move in the dark in the corner of your room, and thinking it’s some sort of evil spirit out to get you. Oh wait, that’s when I was 6.
The other ridiculous thing, is that the Police is perpetuating the issue by making a very big deal about it. Flags, raised, horns blowing, lights flashing big deal. This insights more panic, than make people feel safer. It must also be slow for the the Wilmore PD, this is probably the “most excitement” they’ve had in the town for quite some time. lol
“NOTHING HAPPENED”. That’s really what anyone should be taking in. Think of it as being no different than someone asking someone else for directions. Which is what he probably was asking. I’ve had many people stop and ask me for directions when I was a kid. Still here. 😉 And many cars are black with tinted windows. ie. limos. But I’m pretty sure if a limo pulled up beside the young girl, people would not see it as ominous or dangerous. They would probably start thinking what celebrity, important person is in town. It’s all about perception. Unfortunately, people’s perceptions these days are so twisted and misconstrued.
@John…I know,hear you and agree. And its a real shame! But what is their idea of “Approach” since the man never left the vehicle? Did he pull up along the curb where the child was walking? If so the next time I intend to pull alongside the curb to park my vehicle and I notice children on the sidewalk I will just keep on moving on and locate another space to park.Shame.Only in America,land of the “unfree”.
It seems like the cops encourage this sort of behavior. If they didn’t, this would have been a story about the police arresting whoever called them for misuse of the 911 system.
I can’t help but think that if this man of the black SUV (because, you know, white windowless vans are soooo last two decades ago) intended something nefarious, he would have done a heck of a lot more than “approach” her. Granted, this doesn’t give the girl’s reaction; yet if this guy wanted to do more, he would have.
I bet 5$ a girl saw a car and let her mind wander.
Also, a black man with short haircut and a muscular build. Sounds like a healthy man following a classic trend in male hair length. Pretty scary.
Sounds like the driver of this SUV has 99 problems…
The last line solves the mystery of what the crime was – being a young black male. America really does have a long way to go. SMH.
A good thing about living in a major city is that this type of stuff really doesn’t happen. I’d talk to kids on the street if I had reason to and no one would think anything of it. Because going outside is a thing people do.
I know where they can find him. His name is Shemar Moore, and he is the actor that plays Special Agent Morgan, of the FBI, in Criminal Minds. He is always driving a black SUV.
His intentions are unknown. It seems like if he had actually spoken to the girl that his intentions would be at least somewhat known. So how exactly did he “approach” her? Stop in her vicinity?
On a side note, Big Bang Theory did a bit about the strange guys in white vans thing a couple weeks ago. The guys were considering buying a comic book store and were trying to think of ways to lure more kid business. Sheldon wanted to get a van and drive around to places where kids hang out and offer them rides to the comic book store. Leonard got how incredibly bad an idea this was but the other guys were totally clueless. While this was obviously played for laughs, the reality is that people who don’t have children and/or aren’t consumed by pedophile mania may really not have a clue that stopping to ask a kid something is considered highly suspect today.
“You never hear of stuff like that. You hear of other crimes, like break ins and that. You don’t hear of abductions,†Bonnie Riddle, a neighbor, said.
This poor kid has been abducted without even being abducted!
“I know where they can find him. His name is Shemar Moore, and he is the actor that plays Special Agent Morgan, of the FBI, in Criminal Minds. He is always driving a black SUV.”
…and he’s very handsome.
Back to the topic at hand now.
WKYT’s Sam Smith talked to several people in the area. Four of whom said it sounded like nothing much happened, and two of whom said. “OMG! Strange black man! The children are in danger!” Smith, like a good little reporter, chose to run with the juiciest quote.
So, this man saw an unaccompanied child at the intersection of Creekside Drive and Butler Boulevard in Wilmore, Kentucky. He thought, “Oh, my gosh, an unaccompanied child. She must be lost, or in danger, or perhaps offspring of a neglectful mother who lets her roam the streets alone. I should do something.” But, before speaking to the child, he remembered he was a black man, and a stranger, and would be assumed to have nefarious motives. So, ignoring his better instincts, he drove on.
The good news is that 100% of the people commenting on the article site (so far) think that it is a ridiculous story.
Sounds just like what happened in West Des Moines, Iowa a couple of weeks ago. A guy stopped and asked a 12 year old if she needed a ride home. He saw the story and called the cops. This is just crazy. When men just start ignoring kids and leaving to freeze, drown, etc. then what are these parents going to do?
http://www.kcci.com/news/girl-runs-to-wdm-school-after-man-asks-if-she-needs-ride/29030696
it is not safe now a days to leave our kids unattended,even on public places lots of strange things happens.
Realtor, you must be new here. Lenore has a handy list of links to the side here.
@Warren
If Shemar Moore is going around approaching young girls in his SUV, I’m going to need pigtails and a plaid skirt. Oh, and an alibi to tell my husband. If his intentions are kidnapping (disappointingly unlikely) then I VOLUNTEER AS TRIBUTE!
‘Black man’ is the clincher. We all know black men don’t kidnap kids….they sell them taffy. Just like all Middle Eastern men are terrorists, all Eskimos are locksmiths, the Dutch like to talk to telemarketers, and Peruvians swoop in and save the day. And they can shoot laser beams from their eyeballs….
Stereotypes. Where would we be without them?
I learnt all that from America’s Finest News Source….
I came across an article about what people fear, and I have to wonder how many adults (women really) would freak out if “approached” by a muscular black man in a black SUV with dark tinted windows. (I am not defending this perspective, it strikes me as both sexist and racist.)
But the survey showed that “more than 20 percent said they don’t feel safe “at all” walking alone at night.”
Okay so this wasn’t night. But if adults are that saturated in fear, that they themselves are afraid to take a walk, is it any wonder they fear for the children?
Read more: http://www.wtop.com/41/3728126/Survey-What-Americans-fear-the-most#ixzz3H1JufuKt
(Good details on what media viewing increases those fears…day time television being a big contributor.)
At this point, too, we can’t even know what “young girl” means. He could have approached a 19 year old, since the media routinely refers to 18 and 19 year old women as “young girls.” She could have been 15. She could have been 11. She could have been 4. Who knows? We’ve turned everybody under the age of 21 into a “young child.” (In the reporting on Ferguson, I saw 18yo Michael Brown referred to as a “little boy” numerous times, so it’s not just females, either.)
Not entirely on topic, but this trend of referring to teen and young adult and even fully-adult women as “young girls” in the media is problematic and annoying.
1) I wonder how old this “young girl” is, given that the media now appears to use “young girl” to refer to any female from the age of 0 to 20. “Young girl” is not an appropriate way to refer to a teen, young adult, or officially-adult woman. I don’t even think it’s appropriate to refer to an older child. My 4yo daughter is a young girl; when she is 10 or 11, she’ll just be a girl. When she is in her teens, she’ll be a young woman, and when she’s an adult, she’ll be an adult woman. No more of this referring to college freshman as “young girls.” It’s wrong and demeaning, and it’s honestly kind of gross and porny.
Of course, it’s not just females who are subject to this. I saw numerous reports on Ferguson refer to Michael Brown, 18, as a “little boy” or a “young boy.” I have a 10yo son who I wouldn’t refer to using either term. It’s wildly inappropriate to apply to a young man who is officially an adult.
2) A BLACK MAN DROVE THROUGH OUT NEIGHBORHOOD! HIDE YOUR VIRGIN DAUGHTERS! That seems to pretty much sum it up.
I wouldn’t go race card on this one. People regularly flip out over people violating the Magic Proximity Zone to kids, especially in…gasp…VEHICLES! these days. Sometimes it fits, but people flip out over people of all races/sexes/whatever getting too close to kids without a license. Remember that STUPID thing about the girl on the scooter and her panicked mother?
It is a small town in Kentucky. 2% of the population is black. If he’d been a white man it wouldn’t have been “news” or a “crime”.
“It is a small town in Kentucky. 2% of the population is black. If he’d been a white man it wouldn’t have been “news†or a “crimeâ€.
Right. Because we NEVER see news reports about people getting hysterical over white men doing things that “scare” them for no rational reason. Except we do, all the time.
I dunno, maybe there’s a racial angle here. could well be. But there easily could not be, since people freak out over men of any race getting too close to kids all the time, as we see on this site regularly.
Hillary:
You took the words right out of my mouth!!!
That man is FINE!
Some poor guy looking for a parking spot is now a “suspect”.
I had to double check to be sure this wasn’t from The Onion.
If you look up “slow news day” in the dictionary, you’ll find a link to this article.
/sarcasm
Well, Bonnie Riddle got it half right. The crime was DWB (driving whiile black) and American jails are pickled in those.
@anonymous mom,
– made me smile, that sytematic deciphering of the impossibly difficult concept of age-appropriate definition.
young girl, girl, tween, teen, young woman, woman.
same for boys.
Ages, genders, races and behaviors get thrown into the media blender and slopped around as news….only this is non-news.
Thank you Ms. Riddle. Only no thanks.
We will now please value add all kids, no matter what age, just to wake up the sleepwalkers in Paradise.
Pass the cheez doodles, please, and turn up the volume.
I might miss something…..
Police will take the matter seriously. After all, it’s a subdivision. Where brains are subdivided down into bovine herd instinct.
Looks moo on you.
OMG he might be asking for directions! The horror! Or asking where she got her cute bike because he wants to get one for his daughter. Or just saying Hi.
Unless he actually tried to entice her into his car or say something offensive to her then there is zero reason for anyone to do anything regarding this.
It is not illegal (yet!) to speak to children on the street.
Oh my gosh…what nonsense.
I have no idea what “young girl” means either because….yeah, the media don’t seem to grasp the idea that children grow up!
My rough definitions though?:
Baby: Any child is who under 12 months of age.
Little kid: 1-5
Big kid: 5-9
Tween: 10-12
Teen: 13-19