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Deputies search for man in truck who tried to lure kids at bus stop

Posted at 11:20 PM, Mar 02, 2017
and last updated 2017-03-02 23:20:23-05

Deputies are searching for the driver of a black pick-up truck who may have tried to lure two children into it, Wednesday morning.

"The thoughts that run through your mind of what could have been. I mean there's nothing scarier," the father of the children told ABC Action News.

The Pasco County Sheriff's Office said the suspicious incident happened around 7:40 a.m. near a bus stop in a Land O'Lakes neighborhood.

"They said that a black pick-up truck followed them down the road and rolled down their window and asked them if they needed a ride," the father said.

The children rejected the ride from the stranger and then they ran toward their parents.

"They did exactly what we told them, which was to run as fast as you can," the father said.

Their mother added, "I don't care if they know your name like if you don't know them run and that's what they did".

A surveillance camera on a home in the neighborhood captured the black pick-up truck entering and leaving the community.

"It's a concern when anyone is brazen enough to approach a bus stop and ask children to get inside their vehicle," Pasco County Sheriff's Office Public Information Officer Melanie Snow said.

Snow said the kids, ages 9 and 7, did the right thing by running away and alerting their parents about the suspicious incident.

"If anything, this should re-ignite a conversation between parents and their kids about the importance of stranger danger," Snow said.

The parents of the children are proud their kids listened to what they taught them.

"I cried the whole way to work and just thank God that...that it turned out the way it did. Nothing happened and my kids are safe," their mother said.

If anyone has information about this case, they are asked to call the Pasco County Public Safety Communications Unit  at (727) 847-8102.

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