Mysterious man stalks Puyallup schools

PUYALLUP, Wash. — Police are turning to the public to track down a man who has appeared at several schools in the Puyallup area. Police said they're worried he may be trying to "case out" a building or preparing for something more serious.

Surveillance photos taken at Maplewood Elementary School show the man who appears to be the same person who's been seen at five other schools.

Police described him as appearing "sweaty and disheveled."  He is white, about 30 years old, 5 feet 10 inches tall, with a medium build and light brown hair cut in a flat-top style.

When approached by adults who ask what he's doing, the man calmly and coolly gives them a name of a student or teacher he says he's looking for. But there's no one matching the name at the school.

He's also reportedly checked into a school office using a false name.

"At this point, there is still no crime. There's nothing missing," said Capt. Save McDonald of the Puyallup Police Department. "(It) appears to be someone casing a place for theft, or possibly a worse motive. We don't know. Right now we don't have a crime."

A witness saw him leaving a parking lot driving a tan, single-cab, mid- to late-2000s Ford Ranger 4x4 truck. A large tattoo was seen on one of his forearms.

Bulletins are being posted in the school district so parents, teachers and bus drivers will be watching for him and call police if they see him.

KIRO