Local

Deputies: Man tells 2 teens to strip naked during luring attempt

MONROE, N.C. — Union County deputies are warning residents in a Monroe neighborhood about an attempted luring over the weekend.

Investigators said two teenage boys were walking near Rocky River Road Saturday afternoon when a driver pulled over next to them.

"He got out of his vehicle, told them to strip down naked, and said he was going to meet them in the woods and follow them," said Dawnn Gardinier, the mother of one of the victims.

Investigators said the man then tried to force the teens into his car but they ran away.

A deputy was nearby, on an unrelated call, and the victims immediately reported the incident, but a search of the area yielded no suspects.

The man is described as a black male, with a clean-shaven head, in his 30s, 6 feet 2 inches and 230 pounds.

Investigators said the man was driving a brown Nissan Maxima, but they don't know what year.

Deputies on patrol have been given a be on the lookout alert with the man's description and Gardinier said she's been alerting other families in the area, which is near Rocky River Elementary School.

"It frightens me that maybe he followed them. If he's going after older kids like that, I don't want him to go after little kids," Gardinier said.

Anyone with information should call the Union County Sheriff's Office.