According to the Police, parents of a young girl reported they were attending an event at the Higher Ups Park, Ashland, where the girl and several children were playing in a playground.
Police report that on July 20th, 2016 between Noon and 1:30pm, a “suspicious” man was seen interacting with the children and took an interest in the young girl. Several minutes later, the girl and the man disappeared from the area and came back about 15 minutes later when the man was seen giving the child a cookie.
The officers said the child’s parents questioned the man about his action and were told by him that he had just helped the girl go to the bathroom. The parents then told the man that they were uncomfortable about his actions after which he walked away and disappeared into a group of charter buses that are believed to be used by groups touring Pioneer Tunnel.
The parents of the child reported that on Sunday, the child told them about the interaction, saying the man took her into the park’s bathroom, gave her two spoonfuls of some type of liquid and had inappropriate contact with her.
The child said that she immediately spit the liquid out and both her and the man exited the bathroom. The girl also reported that sometime during the encounter, the man took pictures of her.
The man is described as being in his 30's or 40's, about 5 feet 9 inches tall with an average build, brown hair, a mustache and buck teeth.
At the time, the man was reported to have been wearing glasses, a tan shirt,, tan pants and dark sneakers. The man was also seen carrying a Canon camera that had a black lanyard with a yellow stripe.
Police report that it was found that the man was not part of any church group and that is not known if he was at the park on his own or came and left with one of the tourist groups.
Anyone with information that may lead to identifying the man responsible for this incident is asked to call Ashland police at 570-875-2600.
All information received will remain confidential.