Neighbors in Queen Anne have become a bit leery of a man who for the past two weeks has been spotted driving around the Hill in a dark green Ford Explorer, asking women for directions to Magnolia and then propositioning them, according to a Seattle police report and neighbors who posted sightings on a neighborhood blog.
Members of the Queen Anne Moms and Dads blog posted several times about a "creepy" man, who has since abandoned the Explorer for a 2004, silver Acura thought to be stolen, according to the Seattle Police Dept. Police are asking that anyone who sees the car with license-plate number 495SMX to call 911.
At about 9:45 a.m. Sunday, one Queen Anne parent had been approached by the man three times while she was jogging the Queen Anne loop. The man was in a silver Acura with a tan interior and tried to stop the jogger at the corner of Highland Drive and Fourth Avenue West.
The jogger pretended not to see him and continued running. She called 911 and continued to jog. Police were dispatched.
When the jogger reached Seventh Avenue West and West Crockett Street, she saw the man again. The man noticed her then wheeled around and drove past her, heading toward West Blaine Street and the promenade.
Later that same morning, a couple jogging by noticed the man in the Acura asking another jogger for directions. The jogging couple had been alerted to a suspicious man driving an Explorer. Though the suspicious man was in a silver Acura, the couple jogged over to the other jogger to make sure all was OK. They weren't sure it was the same guy, but figured it out after consulting the blog and other Queen Anners. They wrote down the license plate number, too.
While asking for directions isn't illegal, his doing so in a stolen car may be, according to Seattle police. As of Monday afternoon, the man still at large.[[In-content Ad]]
