Youth flee from suspicious man at Esquimalt bus stop, RCMP investigating

A bus stop in the 400-block of Boleskine Road in Saanich is shown in this Dec. 3, 2015 file photo. (CTV Vancouver Island)

West Shore RCMP are looking into a concerning incident that caused two girls to flee from a man who was waiting at a bus stop in Esquimalt, B.C., on Tuesday.

The two youth, aged 13 and 14, were waiting at the bus stop at Craigflower Road near Aral Road around 6:20 p.m. when a man who was also waiting at the bus stop began acting strangely.

Police were told that the man rummaged through his backpack and pulled out a red ski mask. He then put on the ski mask and grabbed a pocket knife from the backpack.

"The youths were frightened and immediately got up and began running away," said West Shore RCMP in a release Thursday.

One of the girls told police that she looked backwards at the man as they were running and heard him yell "come back."

After running a little further, she looked back a second time but the man had disappeared.

"We do not know what the intentions of this suspect were but this is certainly concerning and suspicious behaviour," said West Shore RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Nancy Saggar.

"We are asking the male suspect to come forward and speak to police," she said.

The man is described as an approximately 20-year-old Indigenous man who stands 5'10" with a medium build and chubby face. He was wearing light-blue baggy pants, a belt with a "sparkling diamond belt buckle," a black hoodie and high-top red and green Jordan shoes. He was also carrying a black backpack.

"If you were in the area at the time and were witness to this incident or have dash camera footage relating to this event please contact us," said Saggar.

The West Shore RCMP can be contacted at 250-474-2264.

While the incident occurred on Tuesday, police say they did not receive a report of the encounter until Wednesday.