COBB COUNTY, Ga. — The search is on for a man accused of targeting children in two different counties. Police say he approached children and lured them to secluded places.
Investigators told Channel 2 Cobb County Bureau Chief Michele Newell that the man is tied to two child molestation cases in Cobb County.
Newell spoke to a mother who lives in an apartment complex where one of the crimes happened.
She said parents who live there are terrified.
“It’s horrible to think that somebody is really targeting our children,” mother Rhae Nicole Halloway said.
Police said the man has been seen in the area of Blair Bridge Road and Oak Ridge Road.
“Are people afraid right now?” Newell asked Halloway.
“Yes, we’re very afraid. We’re scared. Now you see more parents coming to the park with their children,” Halloway said.
Police have asked us not to name the apartment complex that is tied to one of the cases they are investigating because they want to protect the victim.
TRENDING STORIES:
- Atlanta coffee house paints over mural paying tribute to the late Jovita Moore
- Georgia apartments wouldn’t move terminally ill child to ground floor; now they’re paying $750K
- Georgia woman sues 50 Cent over claims of threats, retaliation: ‘You will suffer fif’
But Halloway shared a letter with Newell that the apartment complex management sent to warn parents.
“Our rental office actually sent us a posting of it because he actually did take a little boy that was in my apartment complex into the back of the woods,” Halloway said.
Cobb police are hoping an alert they issued helps them find the man.
“Unfortunately, the pictures are all that we have now. We don’t have any that show his face,” Sgt. Eric Smith with the Cobb County Police Department said.
“We are in a gated community, so literally, kids can come outside with their older siblings. Not anymore,” Halloway said.
The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office is trying to identify the same man because police say he is accused of targeting children there, too.
Police think he is between 30 to 40 years old. They believe he is 6 feet 1 inch tall or taller and has black hair.
Police are urging parents to stay with their children at all times or make sure they are with an adult.