Sheriff searches for student stalker

The Sarasota County Sheriff's Office is searching for a man who tried to lure an 11-year-old boy into his vehicle as the child walked home from Phillippi Shores Elementary School in Sarasota yesterday afternoon.

The suspect was headed northbound on Riverwood Avenue when he stopped to ask the child if he would help him find his missing bunny rabbit. The student did not answer but showed the man his cell phone, which apparently made the man drive away.

The suspect is described as a white male with a light complexion, approximately 20 to 30-years-old, dark hair with a thin, squared face and a thin beard. He was wearing a blue and black plaid collared short-sleeve shirt and dark sunglasses.

The vehicle is a white mid-size SUV that is missing the passenger side mirror. The rear passenger taillight did not work and there was damage to the driver side rear quarter panel. The white vehicle’s hub caps were also missing from the driver side and passenger rear tires; and the vehicle had a dark colored license tag and a brown bumper sticker with “Texas” written in white.