LIVINGSTON COUNTY, Mich. – Residents of a Brighton-area neighborhood said they’re rethinking safety precautions after Michigan State Police arrested a man accused of trying to lure an 8-year-old girl into a wooded area.
The incident happened around 7 p.m. Wednesday in the Alger Pines subdivision in Livingston County, according to Michigan State Police.
Police said the girl was riding her bike on Rosemary Lane when a man approached her wearing a pest control company identification badge and appearing to be a traveling door-to-door salesman.
The man allegedly asked the girl to come into the woods, telling her he had “a surprise,” police said.
Police said the girl’s father confronted the man, who then sped away on a Segway-type vehicle.
State police located and arrested the man on Thursday (May 28) afternoon.
The Livingston County Prosecutor’s Office will now decide whether to file charges.
Neighbor Nicole Lawrence said the arrest was “pretty shocking” in a quiet neighborhood.
Lawrence said she was biking with her daughter Thursday evening because she didn’t feel comfortable letting her ride alone. She also said she believes the same man had previously come to her door.
“It was this man that would come; he had an electric scooter that he would drive around the neighborhood in, and if you told him no, he would kind of get angry and aggressive,” Lawrence said.
Other neighbors also said they believed they had spoken to the man before.
Several neighbors said they’re reconsidering their home security habits after the incident, including turning on their cameras, locking their doors, and keeping their children close.
“We have the Ring camera recording again because it was not recording; it would normally just be live,” Lawrence said. “Just the Ring camera, make sure doors are locked, have alarms in the house, and just keep your kids with you.”