An elderly Missoula man has come forward to say he was the individual who stopped to ask a 10 year-old girl if she needed a ride to school on Tuesday morning.

Missoula Police Detective Sergeant Bob Bouchee says the man called police after hearing media reports regarding the incident. The unidentified man told investigators that the 5th grader looked like she had already missed the bus to school, and was just trying to be helpful. He said he meant no harm, and when the girl did not respond, he simply drove away.

After the incident on Tuesday morning, Rattlesnake School principal Jerry Seidensticker sent a mass email to all school families encouraging parents to remind their children not to talk to strangers.

Bouchet says the man was not arrested, because there was no criminal intent.

Detective Sergeant Bob Bouchet

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