SANFORD, Fla. – Police announced that they’re searching for a “suspicious person” involved in an incident with two children over the weekend at a Sanford park.
In a release, police said that the incident happened around 11:30 a.m. on Sunday, when the person approached the children at Mike Kirby Park, located at 2199 Oregon Ave.
“The person made vulgar comments and possibly partially exposed his genitalia to the children,” the release reads.
Jill Mraidi said she knew something was wrong as soon as her son came up to her.
“I could see he was very hesitant and scared,” Mraidi said. “I said, ‘Are you OK? Are you scared?’ and he goes, ‘Yeah, that guy is weird.’”
Mraidi said her son described what happened.
“He had opened up his waistband,” Mraidi recounted. “And told the kids to come over and look at it and touch it.”
She continued, “He grabbed his own thing, and told them ‘Do you know what this is for?’ And was basically shaking it back and forth.”
Mraidi’s son had been playing at the park with her friend, Laura Dixon’s daughter. They’re 8 and 9 years old.
“I was in Kissimmee and I got the phone call, and I just immediately started crying and freaking out,” Dixon said. “She should be able to go to the playground without something like that happening.”
Dixon said she has spoken to her daughter about what happened several times after the fact.
“He was hanging around, making sure they were alone, and targeting those two because he was asking questions like ‘Hey, how are you doing? How is your day going?’ And then he went into the sexual stuff,” Dixon said.
Mraidi said after he allegedly exposed himself he told the children that no one would identify him and he would dye his hair.
A police report obtained by News 6 says that after the encounter he ran towards the park exit and jumped a brick fence into The Retreat at Twin Lakes, a nearby subdivision.
“I ran after him,” Mraidi said. “He got up on an electrical cage and hopped over the brick wall that surrounds it and went in there. I followed him all the way up until that point.”
Now, police said they’re asking for the community’s help in figuring out who this person is.
According to investigators, the suspicious person is described as a White male with black, medium-length hair and a small build. He was also seen wearing a tan sweater and maroon pajama-style pants.
“If you live in the area of The Retreat at Twin Lakes, please review your surveillance cameras, which could reveal further information about this suspicious person,” the release continues.
Anyone with information about the incident or the suspicious person is urged to contact the police department.