Chatham Police on Guard After Madison Luring Incident

Chatham police were on guard during school dismissal Tuesday after an attempted luring incident on Woodland Road in Madison Monday night.

A statement on the Madison School District's Web site says Madison police reported a fifth grade girl was approached Monday at 5 p.m. on Woodland Road in the vicinity of the Madison Board of Education office. The man, who was described as white, approximately 20 years old, and driving a red Acura, reportedly asked the student if she needed a ride.

According to an alert of "high importance" issued to parents by School District of the Chathams Superintendent Jim O'Neill at 2:01 p.m. Tuesday, the girl said she did not need a ride, and the man then left the area. Madison police said a subsequent investigation did not yield a suspect.

The alert urged students to be cautious on the way home. The alert also said that police would be visible at schools around dismissal time.

"There is reason to believe this individual is still in the area," the alert read.

School district officials have issued alerts after two similar events occurred in the area in recent months.

Elo R. Pintado, of Orchard Avenue in Summit, was arrested by Berkeley Heights police on Jan. 8 for allegedly attempting to lure a nine-year old girl into his car while she waited to be picked up from Thomas P. Hughes Elementary School in Berkeley Heights.

And borough police said a man drove up next to a 12-year old Chatham Middle School student on Lafayette Avenue in Chatham on Jan. 29 and asked the girl where her "mommy" was. Police did not refer to that event as a luring incident.