Erie police determine no threat in alleged luring

Sep. 29—Erie police have identified the two people they were seeking for reportedly trying to lure a girl into their car on Sept. 22 as minors and determined there was no threat.

According to a release, police believe the incident happened between 6:40 and 6:50 p.m. Sept. 22 near the Latitude neighborhood in Vista Ridge.

A 9-year-old girl said two people in a car tried to get her to approach the vehicle, with a man in the passenger seat pointing his finger and saying, "come here."

The girl ran away but was able to take pictures of the vehicle. The driver made a U-turn and parked at a nearby park. The girl's father drove his vehicle to the park and followed the vehicle out of the neighborhood southbound on Mountain View towards the King Soopers on Baseline Road before calling police.

Police canvassed the surrounding area but did not locate the vehicle.

The vehicle was described as a white Honda Civic missing its front bumper occupied by a driver and passenger in their 20s. The passenger was a man, but no further information on the driver was released.

However, Erie police later stated in an update they found the car in the reported luring by cross-referencing photos of the vehicle with license plate databases.

The update stated police spoke with minor driver and minor passenger of the Honda Civic after getting their parents' permission to speak with them. The teens, who do not live in Erie, said they were in the area looking for a park. Both boys said they did not beckon to the girl and that they left the area after her father began following them.

The update did not provide any further information about the boys or why they were looking for a park in the area.