Police: Stranger Approached Young Girl Playing Outside

Police have stepped up patrols after a man approached a 9-year-old girl outside of her Charlotte apartment, officers said.

The girl was playing outside of her apartment at Heatherwood, which is part of a cluster of apartment complexes off Providence Road in south Charlotte. A man came out from a hallway between apartments, motioned toward her and said, ‘Come here,’ according to police.

The girl told police she was frightened and ran the other way.

Though police said they don’t know if the incident was an abduction attempt, the girl told investigators she thought the man was trying to get her to follow him away from the apartment complex.

“It's scary to think about someone trying to take little children,” complex resident Monica Percent said.

“I have nieces that come over, so anything like that is going to make you wonder,” resident Melissa Lundstedt said.

The girl had never seen the man before, according to a police report. Police, who alerted apartment managers in addition to upping patrols, still aren't sure who he is. The only description they have is a slightly-built white man, wearing beige shorts and a blue shirt.

Police have been stopping to talk to people in the area one-on-one in hopes that they can learn who the man is and if he had any malicious intent when he approached the girl.