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Overland Park police identify suspicious man approaching women

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Overland Park police said the man about whom they warned the public to be vigilant after two reports the he exhibited suspicious behavior at gas stations in south Overland Park has been identified.

Police said the comments and tips generated from media attention helped identify the unidentified man and the OPPD Investigation Unit was following up regarding his activity.

On June 8, a woman was walking toward her vehicle at a gas station in the 7900 block of West 151st Street when a man asked if she could get into his vehicle and help him read his gas gauge, police spokesman John Lacy said in a news release.

The man told her he was driving from Pittsburg, Kansas, to visit his mother in Omaha.

The woman told police she felt suspicious and declined to help him. The man then left the parking lot.

A week later, on June 16, a juvenile female told police she was approached by a man in the 15700 block of Metcalf Avenue who asked her for gas money to visit his mother in Omaha.

The girl told him that she didn’t have any money, and he drove away.

Two days later, the girl saw a post on social media about the earlier incident on West 151st Street and told her mother about the man she encountered.

Lacy said police believe it was the same man involved in both incidents. Both females described the man as in his 50s, about 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighing 200 pounds. They said he had gray, slick-backed hair, and one of the females said he had a gray beard.

They told police his vehicle was a silver four-door sedan, possibly a Ford.

On social media, posts were circulating this week about the Overland Park incidents, as well as other possible suspicious encounters at various businesses.

Leawood police said last week a woman reported that a suspicious woman may have been following her around in the Macy’s store at Town Center Plaza. On Wednesday, police said that's all they know at this time.

No other police departments have said they received similar reports.

In Overland Park, Lacy said police are working with area businesses to obtain video or photos of the two incidents.

“Police officials urge all to be aware of your surroundings, and if approached by someone who is acting suspicious, immediately seek safety by either calling 9-1-1 or going back inside a business and asking for help,” Lacy said in the release.

Anyone with information in either incident is asked to contact the Overland Park Police Department or the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS.