Transient tries to lure boy from ball field
Posted May 19th, 2008 by minortopics | via www.signonsandiego.comUsually if you think about danger lurking in the brush at the edge of a baseball field, you might think ticks, snakes, or poison ivy. But parents in Lakeside, California, along the San Diego River have something else to worry about — transients. (Or “homeless” for you non-PC types.)
A 9-year-old boy was lured to the riverbank by a transient. Adults at a softball game nearby intervened and called sheriff’s deputies. When the man was arrested, they discovered he was a registered sex offender.
“I hate to think what would have happened if we weren’t watching him and the boy had actually gone down there,” said Sam Smith, president of the Lakeside Girls Fastpitch Softball league.
Because of the incident, the county has given a higher priority to protecting children from transients at the 60-acre park on Ashwood Street, near El Capitan High School.

