'Suspicious man' who'd followed children turned out to be their dad

A case of two children being followed by “a suspicious person” in Brantford, Ontario, Canada, was resolved after a man matching the description of the person identified himself to the police - as the children's father. Brantford police issued a public advisory last week after a witness noticed an unfamiliar car approach two children on their bikes and reported the incident to police. The driver pulled up alongside the two children and asked for directions, according to the public advisory.



One of the children responded and pointed in a certain direction, and the car 'followed beside them slowly for a distance.' “This is concerning to our service as well because the citizen who observed this was close by and the citizen could have been asked for direction from this man, however the unknown man chose to ask the young children instead,” police said in the public advisory at the time.



The mystery was solved when a man contacted the child abuse and sexual assault unit on Thursday after reading media reports about the incident. In a new release issued on Friday, police said the man provided details of the incident and descriptions of the person and the car.



“The citizen admitted approaching the children on bicycles, have conversation with them and then follow behind. The citizen is the father of these children,” police said. Police thanked the witness for reporting a suspicious event to the police. They also thanked the father for coming forward. “We continuously ask that citizens act on the side of caution in the interest of the safety of our children than to hesitate,” police said.