MARTIN COUNTY, Fla. -- The Martin County Sheriff wants residents to be on the lookout after a 10-year-old girl said a man drove up to her and told her to get into his car.
The incident occurred just after 5 P.M Thursday near Clayton Street in the Golden Gate area of Stuart.
The 10-year-old girl, Ashley Ovalle, said she was standing outside with her little sister. She saw a car driving down the street, then start slowing down near her home.
“The car came fast and then slowed down at the stop sign,” Ashley said.
She thought he might be asking for directions.
“Then he stopped and he’s like come over here and I just ran to my house,” Ashley said. “I started crying and I told my mom.”
The girl’s mother ran outside and said the car sped away and turned out of sight.
Ashley’s parents called 911 and deputies flooded the area to be on the lookout. A neighbor also told the same story to deputies, saying she, too, witnessed the suspicious car and saw the girl run away.
Ashley said she knew not to get into his car from what she had been taught at her elementary school during a safety talk. She learned to run from strangers.
“I remembered that and I just ran. I thought, they taught me about that,” Ashley said.
Deputies also conducted sex offender checks in the area.
The driver is described as a white man in his 50’s or 60’s wearing a light blue collared shirt. The vehicle is described as a newer model white 4-door Mazda with a Florida tag. The girl also said he had a white mustache or beard.
If you have any information, please contact the Martin County Sheriff’s Office at 772- 220-7170.
