A man pretending to be with the Florida Department of Children and Families has been spotted multiple times spying on children in Baker County.
John Harrell, communications manager for DCF, says residents of Baker County should be on the lookout for an older, heavyset white man with gray hair and a gray mustache. He was seen multiple times in recent days in a small, powder blue car across from the Baker Manor apartment complex in Macclenny.
Harrell says the man showed an employee at the complex a fake DCF badge, saying that he was watching children. The man claimed he was “conducting surveillance” after a report of child abuse.
“Looking at children, trying to spy on children,” Harrell says. “It should raise red flags for everybody.”
Harrell says DCF officers would never conduct surveillance on children. He says investigators go directly to homes and schools to interview children and parents. They are required to show their badges, which have two holograms on it. Badges have QR codes that can be scanned with a smart phone.
The man has also been seen sitting in a car in the parking lot of a building that was once used by DCF. The man identified himself to a Children’s Medical Center employee as a DCF investigator.
Four years ago in Jacksonville, a baby was kidnapped by a person claiming to be a DCF investigator. The baby was recovered by the Sheriff's Office, and the kidnapper received an 18 year prison sentence.
Anyone with information on the person recently seen in Baker County is asked to call the Baker County Sheriff’s Office at (904) 259-2231.
People who need to confirm the identity of a DCF investigator can call the Florida Abuse Hotline at 1-(800)-962-2873.
