BELFAST, Maine — Belfast police are looking for a woman who may have tried Tuesday afternoon to entice a young girl into her car using a puppy.
Belfast police Officer Howard Dakin said it’s not known whether the woman was trying to give away puppies or had ulterior motives, so they would like to talk with her.
The woman, described as very thin and 5 feet 6 inches to 5 feet 8 inches tall, with light brown hair and dark glasses, was driving an older model Buick or Oldsmobile, last seen on Ryan Road.
The child’s mother, who is six months pregnant, was checking her mail at the Ryan Road apartment complex where she lives with her 5-year-old daughter, when she noticed a car parked by the main building, Dakin said.
She thought nothing of it until the woman behind the wheel approached her daughter, who was riding her tricycle in the parking area.
“The woman got out of her car and approached the little girl and wanted to know if she wanted to see her puppy,” the officer said. “The woman went over and opened up the back door of her car to show her the puppy, who was in the front seat.”
The mother came over to check on her child, and the woman asked her whether she wanted a puppy. When the mother said no, the woman got back into her car. A short time later the woman left, going in an unknown direction after leaving the complex, which is off Route 1. The car is believed to be an early 1990s model Buick LeSabre or Riviera or an Oldsmobile Delta 88, Dakin said.
“She wasn’t anybody the lady knew or who was familiar,” the officer said.
Belfast issued a bulletin to all agencies within Waldo County around 3 p.m. Tuesday.
The situation was “kind of scary,” for the young mother, Dakin said, adding it could be a misunderstanding.
“It could have been someone who wanted to get rid of some puppies,” he said.
“If the woman herself wants to come forward,” to explain her side of the incident, that would put police and the mother at ease, Dakin said.
By 5:45 p.m., the woman had not been found, a sergeant at the department said.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the Belfast Police Department at 338-2420.