YORK COUNTY, Pa. — A 39-year-old man is accused of trying to lure a three-year-old girl into a van.
Police say they received a call around 12:31 p.m. Friday regarding a suspicious vehicle in West Manchester Township.
The caller reported to York County 911 that a black male driver in a silver Ford van with a New Jersey license plate had just asked a mother and her three-year-old daughter if they wanted to come inside the van and pet their puppy, according to police.
Police arrived in the area, observed the van and activated emergency lights and sirens to initiate a traffic stop. The driver was identified as Sixtus Udeke; there were also two male passengers with him.
Police then spoke with the victim’s mother who advised that her, her two daughters and husband had pulled into a parking spot next to the van. As she got out of her vehicle, the van’s windows rolled down and the driver, Udeke, asked for a cigarette.
After she provided him with one, he allegedly asked the girl if she wanted to see the puppy in the back of his van. The victim and her mother then fled to an area store where they called 911.
The girl’s mother positively identified Udeke as the driver of the van, police say. A check of the van was completed and no dog or any other animal was located inside.
Udeke faces a count of luring a child into a motor vehicle or structure.
