A Barrie mom wasn’t so happy after being offered a Happy Meal while out for a walk with her six-year-old son over the weekend.
Barrie police are looking into what they are calling a “suspicious incident" that took place just after the lunch hour on Sunday, June 20.
There was an online report that the mother and her child were out walking on Yonge Street when they were approached by a man in a black SUV with tinted windows offering free Happy Meals that were in the back seat of his vehicle.
“It’s an isolated incident from what we are aware of, (but) it’s a little bit odd, to say the least, to have someone approach you and say they (the Happy Meals) are in the back seat,” Barrie police communication co-ordinator Peter Leon told BarrieToday. “It’s still a stranger, no matter how old you are.
"Mom did the right thing and let us know about it and it may bring forth additional information," he added.
While Leon said the gesture itself may have been innocent, he is reminding residents that no matter your age, you should never accept any items from a stranger, especially given what the world is going through at the moment with the pandemic.
“It seemed out of place. We certainly haven’t anyone offering McHappy Meals from the back seat of a dark-coloured SUV with tinted windows. Could it have been a ploy to draw someone into a vehicle? We just don’t know,” he added.
The mother, Leon added, refused the offer from the driver, who is described as male, non-white with a goatee, and wearing a lime green toque and tank top.
The woman then reported the incident to police using their online reporting system.
The police department’s alternative response unit followed up with the mother this morning, Leon noted.
“The fact that a mother and her child were approached by this unknown individual on a busy Barrie street on a Sunday afternoon shortly after the noon hour just seemed like it was one was certainly worth sharing (to) see if we get some additional information… or maybe that individual will come forward and say (he) was being truthful and honest and didn’t mean anything by it," he added.
Police are asking anyone who may have a similar incident or recognize the driver to email police at [email protected].
