The Whitman administration alerted the community on Monday that a middle-aged man driving a white van followed a student home from school earlier that evening.

The driver followed the student on her route up Clearview Blvd., which is next to Whittier Blvd, although he never attempted to interact with her. The student’s family called the police about the situation. However, because the student did not note the van’s license plate number, the police say it may be difficult to track down the individual.

Immediately following the incident, principal Alan Goodwin posted an e-mail on Whitnet encouraging students to be conscious of possible dangerous situations and people while walking home from school.   According to Goodwin, the police suggest that students quickly move to a nearby home if faced with this type of  situation.

“While moving quickly, what the police hope students can do is note the license plate number,” he said. “That’s huge.”

Goodwin said that while noting factors that could help to track down a suspicious individual is important, students should primarily concern themselves with getting out of a dangerous situation.

“It’s safety first,” he said. “You need to get yourself out of harm’s way.”