Redmond girl has fearful interaction with stranger in car

Ginny Anderson came home around 5 Monday night from a dental appointment to one of a mother’s worst fears.

“He asked me, ‘Hey little girl — do you want a ride?’ And I said, ‘No, thank you,” 12-year-old daughter Ashley said. “And then I kept walking, and then he went really slow, talking to me still while I was walking.”

Anderson’s daughter said a strange older man followed her in his car when she was all alone near Northwest 21st Street and Upas Avenue, on the outskirts of Redmond.

Ashley said the stranger sped off when she ran away toward the bus stop, in fear. She described her Monday afternoon walk to pick up her younger siblings as a “terrifying” event.

“He looked really creepy, and then he had like glasses. He was by himself,” Ashley said.

The suspect’s car was caught on a home surveillance video camera speeding past their home. It’s described as a four-door dark green car, possibly a Toyota Camry.

This incident comes just two weeks after a high school student reported being offered a ride by a stranger in Southwest 33rd Street near Indian Avenue in Redmond.

This report adds more fear for the already concerned family. Anderson reported her daughter’s encounter to the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office the next day.

“I started thinking about what happened a couple weeks ago with the other call, and then I thought, ‘Well, what happened if this car went around and you know, took somebody or something happened, and I didn’t report what had happened with her?'” Anderson said.

A sheriff’s deputy said the description of the two cars is different, but he also said they are looking for leads in both incidents.

The mother and daughter both say their family has never had an issue in their neighborhood. Now they’re hoping for some answers.

“Who knows if it was actually somebody that was just innocent or somebody that was actually, you know, would take her?” Anderson said. “So I wish I could find out who that person was, just so I can get a little piece of mind, knowing it was just somebody in the neighborhood.”

Meanwhile, Ashley said she won’t be walking alone to the bus stop again any time soon. In fact, her mother said, none of her children will.

A sheriff’s deputy told NewsChannel 21 they have one lead, and they’re following the report. Deputies talked to people in the neighborhood, Tuesday. We will keep you updated as we learn more from the investigation.