More reports are being investigated by authorities of strange white vans following people, and in searching for information on the latest reports we found that this has been occurring for years in multiple states and cities, and yet authorities call these cases unrelated.
The most recent reports have come from multiple counties in Tennessee, including Loudon, Monroe and Cumberland according Local 8 News from June 19, 2015:
That's when she saw the man get into a white Dodge Sprinter van and drive away.
We called all three departments that received complaints. None of them have identified the suspects, but based on descriptions of the vans and the drivers, they don't think the cases are related.
In each case, there weren't any laws broken, but Vonore City Police say they are trying to find the man to get more information.
Kirkland says the man who she thinks was following her is between 40 and 50 years old and about 6'2".
Law enforcement across Cumberland County is on the lookout for a suspicious white van that has been seen several times following people.
Cumberland County Community Resource Officer, Gary Howard, said the van has been spotted several times throughout the county following people and driving suspiciously.
On one occasion, a boy was walking home and the van was reported to have driven past the boy several times. On another occasion, a white van pulled up to a local business, a man got out and started asking a woman several personal questions before finally driving away.
The authorities see no relation in these cases, but looking at the larger picture after doing some searching we see that strange white van incidents have been occurring in multiple states for years, another recent report coming on June 10, 2015, from Bexar County in Texas, where local law enforcement has sent out an alert warning people of a "man in a white van" following teenage girls on the street, the report describing two incidents in the same day:
The first report came from a teenager walking down the street in the 11000 block of Creek Crown.
"She said a guy in a van was following her so, she decided to snap a picture of the van," said James Keith with the Bexar County Sheriff's Office. "The driver of the van ended up taking off. He didn't make contact with her, he didn't talk to her, nothing like that, but she thought it was suspicious. She went home and told one of her parents."
Two hours later, Keith said a 12-year-old girl reported that she was walking in the 10000 of Raven Field when she first noticed a van behind her. She said it eventually pulled up right next to her, but when the driver rolled down the window, she screamed and ran.
In January 2015, Plano,Texas, a man in a white van attempted to kidnap a 9-year-old boy, first offering him ride, then getting out of his van and attempting to grab him.
In March 2014, police were searching for a man in a white van in relation to a kidnapping attempt of a 5-year-old child, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
In March 2014, police in Reddington, Connecticut, were also searching for a man in a white van who went after a teenage girl and coincidentally, the report indicates "the same thing happened in three other towns," with police telling parents to be on the lookout.
In July 2014, Wyoming, Minnesota, KMSP-TV reported that "Two girls were apparently in the front yard of a house when two men in their 30s pulled up in the van. One of the men motioned for a girl to come closer to the vehicle, at which point an adult came out of the house and the van sped away." That van was reportedly white as well.
In August 2014, Jacksonville Florida news reported "suspicious white van spotted 3 times near school bus stops," where the driver was following teenagers and in one case reportedly stopped and took photographs.
August 2014, Chicago news reported of an 11-year old girl that escaped a kidnapping attempt claiming their was another girl "duct-taped" in the white van the man was driving.
In September 2014, Reynoldsburg, Ohio had reports about "a number of community members reported seeing white cargo vans canvassing the area."
In September 2014, Iowa news reported on four attempted kidnappings in separate incidents in multiple counties.
In October 2014, Port Clinton Ohio, police put out a "white van alert" after a man followed "a pair of juveniles throughout Port Clinton."
In March 2013, in Mount Pleasant South Carolina, police were on alert for a man in a white van who was "following and taking pictures of children," with police telling WCBD-TV they had also "received reports of residents seeing the van in many neighborhoods."
In December 2013, the LOCAL 15 reported from Mobile County, Alabama, "A new report of a white van is causing people to be on their guard.This past weekend some homeowners reported four people in a white van were scouring the neighborhood claiming to be with a carpet cleaning business. Soon after, car alarms went off. Now another homeowner just across the Mississippi state line has had a similar encounter, this time she was able to get pictures of the white van and its occupants. Our dog started barking sure enough at a white van with four individuals, said Marcus Hennis in a phone interview with Local 15.Marcus Hennis wife saw a white van with four occupants hanging out in her yard. They were lingering around back so she went to the door they said they were with a carpet cleaning business, said Marcus Hennis. The Hennis live right across the Mississippi-Alabama state line off Moffett Road, 15 minutes from where people in Semmes reported the suspicious van. Marcus says his wife remembered the story from our newscast so she immediately became suspicious. After she pressed for more information they eventually just left, said Hennis.The Mobile County Sheriffs Office is getting copies of pictures Hennis took of the van. Theres no evidence right now the van in the pictures is the one other neighbors reported seeing." (Shown in the first video below)
In March 2012, MLive reported from Jackson, Michigan, that "After multiple incidents of a man in a white van reportedly taking photos of or lingering around children, Jackson County Sheriff Steve Rand is encouraging people to call 911 and report any similar suspicious activity."
As an interesting side note, we also found that incidents of white vans targeting women and children have also been reported in other countries, such as Canada and the UK. In Sri Lanka, "white van stories" have been connected to mysterious disappearances since before 2013. (Shown in the second video below)
Are these and many more found just by utilizing a search engine truly unrelated? Do perverts and kidnappers all have some sort of manual which leads them all to buying and using "white vans"? Or is something far more sinister occurring?
For example, the NYT has connected "white vans" to cases of sex trafficking. Tampa Bay Times has connected them to human trafficking. WGBH in Boston has also connected them to human trafficking.
According to Equality Now, At least 20.9 million adults and children are bought and sold worldwide into commercial sexual servitude, forced labor and bonded labor; About 2 million children are exploited every year in the global commercial sex trade; Almost 6 in 10 identified trafficking survivors were trafficked for sexual exploitation and; Women and girls make up 98% of victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation.
One has to wonder why these events, specifically reporting "white vans" are always reported as separate events without law enforcement or the MSM even mentioning the possibility of an organizational connection to something far more sinister than just random incidents totally unrelated?
