Four children ages 8 to 13 send police force on wild goose chase looking for man who allegedly tried to lure them into his SUV...

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EDISON — A series of attempted luring incidents reported to township police Thursday never actually happened, police said.

"There was never an attempted luring of any children by anyone in a red Dodge SUV," said Lt. Joseph Shannon.

Detectives Michael Leight and Sean Forker led the investigation as authorities combed through the area of Partch Place and Barlow Road, where the incidents had reportedly occurred.

Three boys, ages 8, 11 and 12, and a 13-year-old girl, told police on Thursday afternoon that a man had tried to lure them into his vehicle. They said the man pulled up and said: "My son's missing in the area. Can you jump in and help me find him, and then I'll take you home."

...

"We always take these allegations very seriously, so we exhausted quite a bit of man hours canvassing the area and interviewing people in the area," Shannon said.

"Through their investigation . . . they determined that the incident was unfounded, and there was no attempted luring of any children as reported to the Police Department."

The children made their reports to the police within 20 minutes of each other. They told police the man was driving a red newer-model Dodge sport utility vehicle with mirror-tinted windows. They claimed they couldn't describe the man because he only rolled the window down about 2 inches when he talked.

Police found that the children all know each other, Shannon said.

"It's frustrating when you find out that we're using our resources for incidents that did not occur," he said.

http://www.thnt.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?.../707070386/1001

[Jenn! 918]

Drunk driving, kidnapping, now this? I think kids today are in dire need of some more suitable extracurricular activities.

[L_n_O 3]

unfortunate