Park City police are looking for a man who may have tried to kidnap two 9-year-old children at a school bus stop.
The boy and the girl told police they were coming home from Parley's Park Elementary when a man approached them.
"They said he approached them as they began walking home from the bus," Park City Police Lt. Rick Ryan said Thursday. "He said to them, 'Don't you remember me? I'm your uncle.' He grabbed the girl's ponytail. She pulled away and started to run."
Ryan said the boy told officers that as he started to run, the man held his hand up to "clothesline" him, but the boy ducked.
Both children — who are cousins — ran home. The incident reportedly happened Jan. 20, but police did not learn of it until it was reported to them by a school counselor. Although officers set up surveillance around the school for several days, they have not seen the man.
"We talked to the bus drivers," Park City School District human resources director Tim McConnell said. "We just told them to keep a watchful eye out for anybody not supposed to be there with the students."
The children told investigators they'd seen the man hanging around the bus stop for a couple of months. Police described the man as being about 45 years-old, 5 feet 6 inches, 160 pounds, Hispanic with a dark complexion. He was driving a small yellow car with tinted windows and a blue dragon decal in the back window. Police are relying on the children for the description. Ryan said the children's statements to police seem to be consistent.
"This happened at 3:20 in the afternoon at a bus stop where lots of parents come to pick up their kids," Ryan said. "No one else has reported seeing this guy around. We're hoping to find someone who may have seen this."
Anyone with information is asked to call Park City Police at 435-615-5500.
E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com