Crime & Safety
'Luring' False Alarm in Lower Mac Was Innocent, Police Say
Troopers update earlier report that someone tried to entice children by offering free toys. They now say it was a well-intentioned neighbor.
A Lower Macungie Township neighbor's good intentions in December to offer used toys to children were misunderstood, police now say.
A man approached two boys, ages 8 and 11, at 2:30 p.m. Dec. 28 and asked them if they wanted toys, according to state police at Fogelsville. It is now clear that the neighbor of the boys, who live at 4346 Reservoir Hill Road, was going to offer to donate the used toys elsewhere but offered them to his neighbors instead.
The address of the boys was included to the media in intial and updated police reports. Since that address was used in the first Patch report of initial danger, it is again being included to clarify that the same incident was misunderstood.
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One of the boys has since advised his mother that the man who offered the toys was a neighbor, rather than a presumed predatory stranger, police said. The matter is no longer under investigation.
It was not clear where the added detail of the description of a black vehicle being involved in the incident came from. A black vehicle reportedly was involved in an Oct. 25 report that a man tried to lure a 9-year-old with ice cream at 4647 Berwyn Lane in the township. No legitimate explanation has been offered for that encounter.