By: Nick Buglione
Letters from all of the school principals were sent home Oct. 25, detailing an incident three days earlier in which a dark-skinned, 30- to 40-year-old man in a gold Nissan was seen parked on the ramp leading into Bowling Green Elementary School-s faculty parking lot around dismissal time, according to East Meadow School District Deputy Superintendent Leon Campo.
A teacher who spotted the suspicious man called the police, said Helen Meittinis, a Salisbury civic leader and Bowling Green employee. After the teacher made eye contact with him, it startled him and he drove off, Meittinis said.
Alarmed at the incident and realizing that many children were walking home from school, Bowling Green Elementary School PTA member Pat Brace and principal Maria Ciarametaro jumped into a car and drove around the neighborhood, making sure kids got home safely.
Though they did not encounter the man, Brace said she saw him parked at the Carvel on nearby Carman Avenue after she dropped Ciarametaro off back at the school. There he was, watching two little girls eating chocolate ice cream cones, Brace said.
She circled the block three more times, which spooked the man and he drove off, she said. I followed him with 911 on the line until he ran a red light and I lost him, Brace said.
Just two weeks earlier, a W.T. Clarke Middle School girl reported that while walking home on Palm Lane, near Salisbury Park Drive, she was followed by a man in a car that fit the description, Campo said.
Aside from those two incidents, Campo said that within a two-week period there were similar suspicious sightings of a man driving around Woodland Middle School, Parkway Elementary School and W.T. Clarke.
Third Precinct police said it hasn't been determined whether these incidents are connected, though they are investigating all the reports. [The police] are approaching it gingerly, because they don-t want to take any action when something innocent might be going on, Campo said.
In the meantime, the school district has cautioned students to be wary of strangers when walking to and from school. They recommend that, if possible, children travel with an adult or other children. Above all, children are urged not to get into cars with strangers. If they are confronted by someone suspicious, they should notify a parent or teacher.
Information on the sightings has been posted on the district-s hotline, which is (516) 228-5232, extension 8171.
It has been just over a year since a near-abduction was reported by Bowling Green Elementary School. In that incident, a fifth-grade girl on her way home was approached by a Spanish-speaking, heavy-set, dark-haired man driving a gray car with black striping. The man asked the girl to get in the car, but she ran away.
Campo said there is no reason to believe that last year-s incident is connected in any way to those that have taken place recently. Some parents expressed outrage last year, complaining that the school district failed to adequately notify them about the incident. This year, they said the letter the district sent home simply urged parents to discuss with their children what they should do if approached by a stranger, and didn-t mention last year's incident.
School district officials maintained that they made a concerted effort to notify parents last year, immediately posting a notice on the school district-s hotline. They also claimed that the police asked them to keep the incident quiet while they investigated, though the police denied saying that.
Comments about this story? NBuglione@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 236.
