Sheriff’s deputies were unable to find the man who allegedly attempted to lead a 5-year-old girl into the woods.

Tuesday, August 31, 1999

Sheriff’s deputies were unable to find the man who allegedly attempted to lead a 5-year-old girl into the woods.

The girl and her 8-year-old brother were playing at the Brookside Campground, south of Blooming Prairie, on Saturday evening when the incident occurred.

The girl’s parents told Mower County Sheriff’s Department deputies that their daughter was approached by a stranger, described as young with a small frame and wearing a jean jacket.

The parents said the stranger asked their daughter if she wanted to see a puppy he had in the woods. According to the parents, the stranger then showed the girl a handgun, causing her to scream and run away.

The incident was reported to authorities at 11:18 p.m., well after the incident reportedly occurred at around 8:30 p.m. The children were sleeping when deputies arrived.

The parents and deputies were unable to find any trace of the stranger, who ran into the woods after the girl screamed, the girl’s brother told his parents.

Sheriff Barry Simonson stressed the importance of reporting such incidents immediately.

"If this had been reported properly," he said. "It would have still been light out at 8:30, making it easier to search."

Too good to be true …

Simonson also alerted residents to be on the lookout for get-rich quick fliers circulating through the county.

One flier reads, "Would you like us to send you $1 million cash?" and asks interested parties to send $25 to the return addressee.

"If it looks too good to be true," Simonson said, "it probably is."