NOCTURNAL PROWLERS.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1705, 24 March 1913, Page 6

NOCTURNAL PROWLERS.

UNDESIRABLE CHARACTERS AT AUCKLAND. (By Toloffraph.—Special Correspondent.) Auckland, March 20. For somo weeks past undesirable nocturnal prowlers liavo been haunting] tho Eclsn Terrace neighbourhood. Frequent complaints of having been followed have been made by womenfolk and girls, but So far the offenders liavo not been brought 'to book. Last night the offence was carried to a somewhat sensational extent in tho Dominion Road District. Tlio facts, as obtained by a "Star" reporter who visited the neighbourhood, to-day, nro as follow:—

At about' 7.20 last night two liittlo girls aged eight and six years respectively, wcro sent by their mother from their homo in Aitkcn Terrace, off New North Road, Eden Terrace, to post a letter at a pillar box nt the corner of New North Road and Dominion Road. They wore returning when a man stopped them at tho _ corner of Greenwood Street., and asked if they knew tho way to View Road. They replied that, they did not, whereupon he asked theni to go with him and help him to find 'the place for which ho was searching. lie then took the littlo . girls right along Dominion Road as far as the end of tile twopenny section from town. Whilo in fronlt of. Ashby's bakery, at the corner of Dominion Road and Valley Road, the man gave the older of tho girls a shilling tto buj; lollies, but sho returned the coin to him. Ho ithen gave her a. penny, and at this stage thogirl took fright, running homo and telling her parents that a man had tnken lief little sister.. It is alleged that in tho moantimo tho man took tlio latter to jtho right of Dominion Road into OnsJow Road, and then to somo trees close to the railway line, where lie is said to have acted in an improper manner. Ho subsequently, took the littlo one to tho' corner of New North Road and Onslow Road, where sho was found in a state of weepinir by some women, who taolc her home. Residents .in the'neighbourhood sltate, they saw a young man answering to the description given by the children running along the 'railway lino in the direction of Mount Eden. Immediately the news spread concerning his trerfcnant of the little gil'ls a search part}' was formed, and the locality closely scoured under the direction of the police. At one sta.ge later on a man was sighted running i>,long Itho railway lino towards Mount Eden, <md as lie passed the end of Rattling Street ho fell. Beforo anyone could get up to him, however, he had Vanished, The police are now prosecuting a search; , ,