Volusia County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a string of suspicious incidents where strangers allegedly tried to grab students Thursday.
- Deputies investigate reports of strangers grabbing students
- 3 sepearate incidents, deputies say
- Officials say no suspects have been ID'd yet
In one incident, an 11-year-old at Osteen Elementary told deputies that a man tried approaching him at his safety patrol post around 7:30 a.m. Although the man grabbed the student by the belt, the student said he broke free and fled.
The suspect is described as a white man wearing a black hoodie, tall and thin, and has a tattoo of an eagle head on his right index finger.
Another incident involved a 13-year-old student at Galaxy Middle School. She told deputies an unknown man grabbed her and tried to shove her into a white van at the intersection of East Dana Dive and Florida Drive in Deltona.
She told deputies she kicked and punched the man and screamed for help. The suspect fled in his white van and is described as a white man, thin and tall, with short hair and a scruffy brown beard, deputies say.
The third incident involved a 12-year-old girl who reported to deputies that she was followed by a stranger while she was walking to and from her bus stop on East Normandy Boulevard and Troy Avenue in Deltona.
The suspect is described as a 30 to 40-year-old Black or Hispanic man, wearing a black hoodie, gray sweatpants and black shoes.
The investigations are ongoing, and no suspects have been identified yet, says deputies.