The Stuart Police Department put out a press release recently about reporting suspicious activity.

In the release, Chief Dave Reha says that the department was made aware of a social media post to a private community page on Facebook, where a member made a self-described public service announcement. The post told of an alleged male that was believed to be between 20-30 years old, who was driving an older red Chevy truck, and passed their residence in the 300 block of South Adair Street in Stuart. The post claimed the male exited the vehicle and followed their children on foot to their residence. Reha mentions that the post was made several hours after the supposed incident, and has been removed.

Reha shares that at no time was the department made aware of this incident by the person who made the post, and that the poster stated they hadn’t contacted them because they believed that the social media post was sufficient. He explains that this mindset was troubling to the department, as not informing them could have or may have endangered other children. The individual who made the post refused to provide further information, repeatedly telling the officer that all the information was in the post, and asked the officer to leave.

Reha explains that they were able to follow up with other area residents, and after reviewing audio and video footage, and based on that evidence do not believe a crime was committed or that there is an ongoing threat to the community. Reha also says that he and the Stuart Police Department wanted to take the opportunity to strongly encourage the public to always report suspicious activity to them as soon as it occurs, as social media is not a substitute for a proper report to law enforcement.