Possible attempted child luring in Spokane Valley

A 10-year-old girl told Spokane County Sheriff’s deputies Thursday that a man in a pickup truck pulled up next to her as she walked down the street, tried to engage her in conversation and flashed a handgun. The report came in around 6 p.m. The girl told deputies she was walking home from Opportunity Elementary School on 10th Avenue, according to a Sheriff’s Office press release. She told deputies the man was white, in his early 30s, had a stocky build and a dirty blonde beard. He was driving a newer, full-size dark blue pickup truck. The girl said she yelled at him to leave her alone and ran into a neighbor’s yard. That’s when she said he pulled out a handgun and placed it on his dashboard while telling her to calm down. He eventually drove away after she continued yelling. The girl said she had seen the same man Saturday night while she was having a sleepover with a friend in a camp trailer in her yard. She and her friend saw the man looking inside the trailer window and used a cell phone to call her father, who was inside the house. The man was gone when the father came outside, the press release said. Anyone with information who has seen this man or truck in the area is asked to call Crime Check at 456-2233.