Help Needed To Find Child Annoyance Suspect In Santa Clarita

SANTA CLARITA (CBSLA.com) — Authorities are asking for the public's help to find a man they say has been acting suspiciously around children in the Santa Clarita area.

The suspect is wanted for annoying two girls, ages 10 and 14 on separate occasions, Los Angeles County sheriff's Sgt. Brian Hudson said.

Sheriff's officials say at about 3:10 p.m. Monday,  one girl was waiting for her parents at Old Orchard Park in Santa Clarita. The girl told police the man first asked where her parents were, then told her that her parents had sent him to pick her up. She ran away toward Lyons Avenue, where she saw her mother arriving to pick her up.

Another girl also reported being annoyed by a similarly described man. She told investigators the suspect approached her at Old Orchard Road and Wiley Canyon Road and asked her if she wanted to get ice cream. The girl told him "no," and began to walk away from him, officials said.

The man continued to follow the girl, who then ran away and hid until he left the area.

The suspect was described as a black man between 22 and 30 years old.

Anyone with information about the suspect can call the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Special Victims Bureau at (877) 710-5273 or by emailing specialvictims@lasd.org.