Police on Lookout After 13-Year-Old Reports Being Grabbed By Driver

A 13-year-old Braintree boy told police that he was grabbed by a man after getting off his school bus in the Highlands on Tuesday afternoon.

The unknown white male tried to get the boy into his dark green van near the intersection of Liberty Street and Wildwood Avenue, Deputy Chief Russell Jenkins said in a statement.

The boy was able to break free from the man's grip on his wrist and run home. He described the man as being 30 to 40 years old, having short red hair, sideburns and stubble, and wearing jeans and a dark blue polo shirt, Jenkins said.

"Officers have increased their visibility in the area of all our elementary and middle schools and detectives will be patrolling in unmarked vehicles,” Jenkins said. “All officers are being vigilant for any vehicles matching the description given by the young boy."

He added that there does not appear to be any connection between this incident and one last week in Whitman.

The boy was walking on Wildwood Avenue at 2:30 p.m. when the man drove up beside him, rolled down the passenger side window and said "get in the car," Jenkins said. He followed the boy with his van when he refused, and then jumped the curb, blocking the boy, and grabbed his wrist.

The van may have been a Toyota Sienna, the boy told police, with rear windows darkened.

“Many times, incidents such as this have innocent explanations,” Jenkins said, “but parents would do well to talk to their children about what to do in a similar situation. Don’t engage in conversation, run away and tell an adult.”