Update: School District Issues Alert After Man Approaches 12-Year Old

The School District of the Chathams issued an alert Friday night after a man in a black SUV drove up to a 12-year old girl walking down Lafayette Street and asked her: "Where is your mommy?"

Superintendent Jim O'Neill said in an e-mail Saturday that the incident took place at about 3:30 p.m. Friday on Lafayette Avenue near Main Street. He said he was notified of it at about 6 p.m.

He said an man described as white with a long, thin face, a bit of facial stubble and shoulder-length hair drove up to the 12-year old Chatham Middle School student near the New Jersey Transit bridge over Lafayette Avenue and asked the girl where her "mommy" was. The girl then ran over to Noah's Bagels nearby with some of her friends.

O'Neill said the man had no further contact with the girl, and borough police said the man did not ask the girl to get into his car.

"There does not appear to be a realistic threat to children," O'Neill said in the e-mail.

Police said the girl was walking home from school when the driver drove his car up to the curb of the street to speak with the girl.

O'Neill stressed that police are not referring to the occurrence as an attempted abduction or as a luring incident.

He said he originally did not send out an alert to parents, saying he is concerned that if the district sends out alerts too often, people may not pay attention when the matter is truly urgent. But after the Summit City School District sent out an alert of its own, and Summit parents began calling Chatham parents about the incident, some Chatham parents expressed concern to the district over the matter.

The district then sent out an alert to parents at about 7 p.m. Friday.

Police said the 12-year old was unable to provide them with license plate information. If you have information about the matter, contact the Chatham Borough Detective Bureau at 973-635-8000.