NGPD: Accused child lurer was actually solar salesman

NORTH GREENBUSH, N.Y. (NEWS10) — North Greenbush Police said Thursday that the child luring alert they sent out Wednesday was a false alarm. Police said the man had no ill-intent but was handing out pamphlets for his solar company without a permit, which is still illegal.

Around 7 p.m. Wednesday, witnesses reported seeing a man act suspiciously towards children near Snyder's Lake. They said he struck up a conversation with the kids and may have grabbed one of them. When adults stepped in, the subject fled.

Over the following day, several residents came forward to identify the subject from his recent visits to their homes. Detectives tracked him down and he was fully cooperative once he learned of the investigation.

The case was closed on Thursday after detectives learned the man had no ill intent. According to police, the witness who originally reported the incident was on the opposite side of the car from the kids, so it looked like the man was trying to grab them when he was actually soliciting his solar service. "This was a good intent call," police said. "What appeared to a witness as an attempt to grab a child wasn't really what they were seeing."

The unnamed man was cited for soliciting without a permit. He has been ordered to appear in Town Court at a later date.

"We can't thank everyone enough for helping to bring this to a quick resolution. While this turned out to not be a criminal act, they unfortunately do happen and I feel our community proved today that such a case would have a very high chance of a successful conclusion" said Chief David M. Keevern. "The officers and detectives did an amazing job of collecting information quickly and developing facts to put the story together."