Girl Reports Being Approached by Man While Walking to School

A Hermosa Valley Middle School eighth-grader said she fled from a stranger who approached her while she was walking to school Tuesday morning, according to a letter from the Hermosa Beach City School District.

She was the second Hermosa Valley student to report being approached or followed by a stranger during the last six weeks.

The girl reportedly was not harmed, but the Hermosa Beach Police Department was notified of the incident by school officials.

The girl told school officials that she was dropped off from her ride to school at the dead-end corner of 16th Street adjacent to Valley Drive at about 8:15 a.m., near Hermosa Valley’s campus.

She then walked toward  to visit the Starbucks inside the store, she said, walking in the alleyway between Vons and  to reach the store’s entrance.

As she neared the corner of the Vons parking lot, the girls said, she noticed a slow-moving vehicle approaching her. She told school officials that she began to walk faster, and as she reached the corner of Vons, the driver of the vehicle said, “Psst, come here.”

The girl immediately ran into the grocery store and waited inside until she felt safe to exit, she said.

The girl described the man as a middle-aged Caucasian with brown, shoulder-length curly hair that was greased back with a bald spot in front.

The car the man was driving was reported as a dark green, box-shaped minivan.

School officials recently discussed safety tips with Hermosa Valley students after a boy reported last month that a strange man followed him home after school.

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