Julie Pert said two minutes after her 9-year-old daughter Ariel got home from school Tuesday, she noticed a man looking at her outside the living room window.
"He said come out here, open up the door, and she's like, 'no I don't want to talk to you. I don't know you,' and he's like 'open up the door, I want to talk to you'," Pert said.
Pert said the man tried to jiggle open the front door open, but found it locked, before going to the side door to see if he could get in the house. When he found that door locked, he returned to the living room window at the front of the house.
She said her daughter paid close attention to what happened during the encounter.
"Her eyes filled up a little bit with tears. She wasn't crying. She was very brave. She was able to tell me everything," Pert said.
She said Ariel told her a car was running in front of the house, with the front and back passenger doors open.
Pert said the man was very persistent, and also offered Ariel McDonald's as way to persuade her to come out of the house.
During the encounter, Pert said the man also pulled out a red camera and took photos.
"The way she was describing it, she said it looked like a digital camera," Pert said. "She said that she watched his finger on the button, and she watched it go down, so she was watching him taking pictures.”
Within minutes Pert said for some reason the man got spooked, got back in the car and took off.
"It's very disturbing," she said. "It's scary, it's terrifying".
Pert said her daughter walks home from school with a friend. They separate about five houses away from their home.
Normally Pert said waits at home for Ariel, but her son was sick Tuesday and she went out to take him to the doctor.
Pert said her daughter is still scared, and asked her mom to drive her to and from school from now on, which she has agreed to do. She said she is also considering installing video surveillance.
She said she also reached out to neighbours to get to know them better in case anything was to happen again.
Pert said it worries her the suspect hasn't been caught.
RCMP said the man is described as in his 40s or 50s, with a stocky build and grey/brown hair. He was wearing a red T-shirt and black shoes, and driving an older-model brown or tan car with four doors.
Steinbach RCMP and Hanover School Division officials have been in contact about the incident.
Wednesday the Hanover School Division issued a release to parents and guardians.
The division advised this is a good opportunity to remind children about the importance of personal safety, saying it's important children walk in groups, never get in a car with a stranger, and if a child feels threatened, to contact a trusted adult immediately.
"Children should always be aware of their surroundings, and be extremely cautious if they come into contact with any unknown person," said Supt. Randy Dueck.
Anyone with information can call Steinbach RCMP at 204-326-4452 or contact Crime Stoppers.
