Parents Warned After Suspicious Stranger Seen in Franklin Area Sunday

Parents in the district were put on alert Monday after a suspicious stranger was seen by two young girls near the intersection of 14 Mile and Franklin Road on Sunday afternoon.

According to the Franklin Police Department, three young girls — aged between 10 and 12 — were on a walking path in the area of 14 Mile and Franklin Road around 5:45 p.m. Sunday. The path is borderd by a wooded area.

According to police reports, the girls saw a white man in his late 20's or early 30's crouching in the wooded area by the trail. The girls said he was around 6 feet tall, of medium build with light brown hair, was clean shaven and was wearing a red T-shirt, khaki cargo pants and white tennis shoes.

The girls began to quickly walk away, police say, and the man stood up and began angling through the brush in their direction. The girls ran home and didn't see the man leave the woods.

Officers checked the woods Sunday evening but were unable to find the man.

Though the area in question — located near the Franklin Cider Mill in Bloomfield Township — is not in Birmingham, Birmingham Schools spokeswoman Marcia Wilkinson said parents are alerted anytime an incident occurs in or near the school district as a proactive approach against crime.

Young students in the Franklin area attend Birmingham's on Inkster Road.

Wilkinson said the incident is a good reminder for parents to talk to their kids about strangers, including:

• Never talk to a stranger
• Never get close or into a stranger's vehicle
• Never agree to help a stranger (for example, find his or her lost puppy)
• If a stranger tries to get near you or grab you, scream "stranger" and run away
• Always walk in groups, if possible
• Immediately report any stranger incidents to your parents so they can report it to the police

Anyone with any information on Sunday's incident is encouraged to contact the Franklin Police Department at 248-626-9672.