A Palo Alto family is on edge after a suspicious encounter involving a 12-year-old girl and an unidentified man in a vehicle near Sheridan Avenue. According to the Palo Alto Police Department, the girl was walking to school Monday morning when she was approached by a stranger.

Walking eastbound on May 6, around 7:50 a.m., the young girl noticed a man in a vehicle motioning for her to join him in the passenger seat. A parent reported the unnerving incident later that night to the police, as stated in a press release by the Palo Alto Police Department. The girl, exercising quick judgment, ignored the man's gestures and continued safely to her destination across the street, where the man's vehicle had stopped.

The grainy description provided by the girl details an unknown-race male, likely in his thirties or forties, with a light-to-medium brown complexion, a buzz cut, and a short beard. The man was wearing a white long-sleeve shirt at the time of the incident. The vehicle in question is a white four-door sedan characterized by black wheels and a beige interior, bearing standard white California license plates.

Detectives from the Palo Alto Police have taken on the case and are asking for the public's help identifying the man. There have been no recent reports of similar incidents in the area. No suspect sketch has been released. The police department urges anyone with relevant information to contact them at their 24-hour dispatch center by calling (650) 329-2413, submitting anonymous tips via email to [email protected] or texting or leaving a voicemail at (650) 383-8984.