BRUNSWICK — Police received two reports this week of young children being approached on Columbia Avenue within the past month by males in motor vehicles.

A 9-year-old boy told Brunswick police Friday that on Sept. 12, two teenage boys in a silver Dodge Charger yelled at him to get in their car. He said he ran away.

On Monday, the mother of an 8-year-old girl said two men in their 30s or 40s in a silver pickup truck offered her daughter candy on Saturday to help them look for their dog, but she refused.

Deputy Chief Marc Hagan said Brunswick police have ramped up their patrol of the area. He said the reported incidents have been fully investigated and the only similarity between them is that they occurred on the same street.

Police became aware of the first incident after the mother of the 9-year-old boy posted on Facebook on Thursday that her son had been approached by men in a pickup truck after school that day. Hagan said that, after receiving calls from concerned people who had seen the post, police tried to contact the mother, but were unsuccessful. Police did speak to the boy, who told them the incident happened on Sept. 12 and the vehicle was a Dodge Charger driven by teenagers.

Hagan said police still haven’t spoken to his mother.

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Police received a report from the 8-year-old girl’s mother after she received a call from her daughter’s school saying the girl had told a teacher about the incident, Hagan said.

He said both children are students at the nearby Harriet Beecher Stowe School on McKeen Street.

Hagan asked that parents immediately contact police when children report incidents like these.

He said these reports also provide “a good opportunity to talk to your children about personal safety and not talking to strangers.”


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