RCMP are investigating a case of possible child luring after a man in his 50s came from the United States and met a girl in Nanaimo at a public park.

Police issued a press release about the incident, which happened at about 1:30 p.m. on June 29 at Robins Park.

Two City of Nanaimo employees 乌鸦传媒渨ith a keen sense of awareness乌鸦传媒� were getting the field ready for a ball game when they saw the man and girl sitting close to one another in the bleachers.

乌鸦传媒淏y their interactions and body gestures, it did not appear that it was a father-daughter relationship,乌鸦传媒� noted the release. 乌鸦传媒淎fter watching them interact for some time, the witnesses decided they needed to report what they observed to the police.乌鸦传媒�

The girl, who police say is between the ages of 11-15, told police that she thought the man was 25 years old and said the two met via an online platform called Vsing in which users record themselves singing and through which they can chat with other users.

乌鸦传媒淪he said the two of them were nothing more than good friends,乌鸦传媒� the release noted.

The man, who was actually 53, told officers he had arrived in Nanaimo that day after travelling from the U.S. Midwest.

乌鸦传媒淭he individual tried unconvincingly to tell the officer that he and the girl were just friends. When asked, he did not deny that his intentions could be seen as being sexual in nature,乌鸦传媒� RCMP noted in the release.

Police say there was insufficient evidence at the time of the incident to detain the man, and so he was allowed to leave. He was told to depart Nanaimo immediately and return home. That evening, the Canada Border Services Agency confirmed that the man had crossed the border back to the states.

乌鸦传媒淭hese are alarming stories and they scare people, but people need to be scared at times to realize there are dangers in our community,乌鸦传媒� said reserve Const. Gary O乌鸦传媒橞rien, Nanaimo RCMP spokesman. 乌鸦传媒淭here are people who are taking advantage of our youths due to their online activities and this situation could have turned out terribly if it hadn乌鸦传媒檛 been for the two City of Nanaimo employees who took it upon themselves to make one phone call. That乌鸦传媒檚 all it took. One phone call. Their sense of awareness was spot on 乌鸦传媒� They did the right thing and called the police.乌鸦传媒�

The press release noted the investigation is being 乌鸦传媒渁ggressively pursued乌鸦传媒� by Nanaimo RCMP as well by a U.S. agency.

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