Hauppauge Schools: Stranger Danger Alert was False Alarm

Parents and community members were alerted Monday that a suspicious man was seen atempting to make contact with students during recess at the Pines Elementary School in Hauppauge, but the scare was a false alarm, school officials said Tuesday.

Principal Claudine DiMuzio sent out a letter to residents stating that a young, white man, between the ages of 25 and 35, was seen behind the fence of Best Learning Center during the school's first recess period and attempted to grab students' attention. However, that information was the result of a miscommunication, the district said.

The man was a known, local jogger who stopped to talk to to one of the recess monitors, but made no communication with the students, a spokesperson for the district, said.