Published: May 02, 2008 11:18 pm            

CITY OF LOCKPORT: Crossing guard helps police nab suspect

As city crossing guard Peggy Crego stood at her corner on Price Street on Friday afternoon, a woman in a minivan slowed down and rolled her window down.

“I just want to thank you for being so alert,” the woman said, smiling. “We really appreciate it.”

As the woman drove away, Peggy said she’s been thanked a lot since Thursday afternoon, when she and her husband, Paul, reportedly helped police catch a suspect in a child abduction.

It began about 8:15 a.m., as a 10-year-old girl walking alone to school on Price Street neared Peggy’s corner. Paul, who is retired from Delphi and has joined Peggy on her daily crossing guard beat, was sitting in the front seat of their car.

Peggy and Paul said they saw a car approach the girl, who waved at the driver. A few moments later, the car turned around on Waterman Street and pulled up next to the girl, slowing down.

It seemed very suspicious, Paul said.

“We see the same cars daily, all the time,” he said. “He came in real slow. That guy was watching her real close.”

They said they watched as the man said something to the girl, then drove away. The girl did not say anything to them when she arrived at the corner, but “she was very nervous,” Peggy said.

When the girl got to school, she reportedly told an adult that the man had asked her to get in the car.

Throughout the morning, city police were on the lookout for the car that matched the description the girl had given.

Later in the day, after running a few errands, Peggy and Paul were preparing to bring their truck in for an inspection on West Avenue when Peggy saw the same car pass by her.

“I yelled at my husband, ‘Come! Come! The car!” Peggy said.

They jumped in their car and followed the car, which was driven by Daniel G. Bowser, 24, 2991 Lockport Road, Newfane. Peggy drove while Paul called 911.

As they passed by the corner of Main and North Transit streets, Peggy saw an unmarked police car and flagged the officer down.

Bowser was pulled over as he passed by the Lockport Police Department.

He was brought in for questioning and later arrested, charged with attempted unlawful imprisonment.

Lockport police are still working to determine if Bowser could also be a suspect in an incident reported on April 21, when a 13-year-old girl reported a man waved at her from a car while she was waiting for a bus on West Avenue.

“We’re still looking at the connection,” Lockport Police Detective Capt. Richard Podgers said. “There’s just too many similarities.”

In that case, the 13-year-old told police the man parked nearby and got out of the car. Frightened, the girl ran away, and the man got in his car and left.

Podgers said police hoped to see if the 13-year-old could identify Bowser through a photo line-up.

A photo array may prove difficult, however, because the girl saw the suspect from far away and then ran when he got closer.

“She was probably 20, 25 feet away (from the suspect),” Podgers said. “A photo array was a long shot, and we knew that.”

Police are now working on possibly putting together an in-person line-up.

Bowser was arraigned Thursday evening in Lockport City Court and is out on $1,250 bail. He is scheduled for another court appearance Monday.

On Friday, Peggy and Paul were back on the corner on Price Street, reflecting on the events of Thursday.

Despite the comments from passing motorists, Peggy doesn’t consider herself a hero.

“I feel that I’m here doing my job,” she said. “I’m here to protect the kids.”

Contact reporter April Amadon at 439-9222, ext. 6251.

        

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