Woman gives police photos of truck she believes resembles vehicle in Wallace Park incident

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — A woman says she recognized a silver pickup truck she believes may be connected to an incident in which two teenage girls reported being chased at Wallace Park last Friday.

The woman, who asked to remain anonymous, said she encountered a man at a Circle K on Carolina Beach Road shortly before noticing him get into a silver pickup truck similar to the one described in reports about the incident at the park.

She said the man’s behavior initially caught her attention.

“There was a gentleman as I was in the store who’s looking at me weird, like looking me up and down,” she said. “And that already was thrown off by, you know, like looking me up and down. I was like, gross.”

But it was the truck that prompted her to take a closer look.

“As I went to get in the car of my fiancé, I noticed that he was going into the silver truck,” she said. “And I was like, wait a minute, that was just on the news.”

The woman said she took photographs of the vehicle and noticed a sticker in the upper-left corner of the rear window. She later compared her images with images of the truck reported in connection with the Wallace Park incident.

“I looked at image to image. I put them side by side. And it looks almost like it’s the same vehicle. I don’t know,” she said.

She also said the vehicle’s license plate appeared to be covered and that the driver seemed eager to leave the parking lot.

The woman said she provided the images to Wilmington police. Investigators have not confirmed whether the vehicle is connected to the incident at Wallace Park.

The reported incident left two teenage girls frightened, according to Leslie Gourley, a neighbor who lives just a few houses away from Wallace Park.

Gourley said she was inside her home Friday evening when she heard a loud screech followed by a child screaming for help.

“I muted the TV, and I was sitting there listening, and all of a sudden, I heard a kid scream, ‘Help,’” Gourley said.

She said she went to help the girls and found them crying and visibly shaken.

“They just couldn’t stop crying. They were just terrified, sobbing, and they were trying to explain what happened,” Gourley said.

According to the girls’ mother, the girls saw a pickup truck stop and load what they believed was a large piece of furniture. The mother said the situation escalated when the two men inside the truck noticed the girls, backed up and drove after them into the park, spinning the truck’s tires.

The mother said the truck came so close that the girls could feel the heat from its engine.

The woman who photographed the truck said she hopes others will speak up when they notice something that concerns them.

“If you see something, say something,” she said.

Wilmington police are continuing to investigate the reported incident. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact law enforcement.