Luring Suspect Sought After Baiting Teen Boy

Mount Olive police are searching for a man who they said tried to lure a 13-year-old boy on Friday.

Officers responded to the area of Vista Drive in Flanders at 3:20 p.m. where the teen told police he was walking home from his bus stop when a white van pulled up to him and stopped, Officer Michael Russell said.

The teen told police the man driving the van said the boy’s parents were in a car crash, and offered to drive him to the hospital, Russell said. The boy refused to get into the vehicle and the suspect drove away, Russell said.

The teen went home and immediately told his father about the luring attempt, who then reported it to police, Russell said.

Mt. Olive Police have released a New Jersey State Police composite sketch of the suspect from Friday’s luring incident. Authorities are searching for a white man in his early 40s with a buzz cut hairstyle, wearing dark glasses.

The vehicle’s shape and size is comparable to a Honda Odyssey, Russell said, white in color and has no side windows or markings.

Anyone with information may call Mt. Olive Police at 973-691-0850.