SPRING VALLEY - East County authorities were on alert Thursday for a man who harassed a girl walking to school.
The girl told deputies she was walking near Apple Street and Paraiso Avenue shortly before 9 a.m. Wednesday when a man pulled over a late-model dark blue minivan next to her and asked if she wanted a ride to school, said San Diego County sheriff's Deputy W. Bunk.
"I've been watching you and your sisters," the man told the girl, according to Bunk. When she asked him how he knew she had sisters, he responded: "I've been watching you and seeing you around here."
He then asked for the girl's phone number; she said she didn't have one, Bunk said.
The man then began to follow the girl as she walked on, asking her again to accept a ride, Bunk said.
The girl "became frightened and ran to the 7-Eleven store located on Jamacha Road and Grand Avenue, where she called her mother and waited until deputies arrived," Bunk said.
Authorities described the man as Hispanic, around 40, about 6 feet, with a goatee and short unkempt hair. His minivan had dents and scratches.
