(Stuart, Iowa) –  Stuart Police Chief David Reha issued a statement early this (Tuesday) morning, regarding an alleged incident of suspicious activity that was posted on social media. Chief Reha says “On April 7, 2025, the Stuart Police Department was made aware of a post shared to a private community Facebook page. The post, made by a community member as a self-described public service announcement, alleged that a male subject believed to be between 20–30 years old and driving an older red Chevy truck, had driven past their children in the 300 block of S. Adair Street in Stuart, IA.

“The post further claimed the male exited the vehicle and followed the children on foot to their residence. The post was made several hours after the alleged incident occurred and has since been removed. At no time,” Reha said, “was this incident reported to the police department. When asked by others if law enforcement had been notified, the person who made the post stated they had not contacted us, believing that sharing the information on social media was sufficient. This mindset is troubling, as assumptions about how a case would be handled kept this person from contacting us directly, potentially putting other children at risk.”

Chief Reha went on to say, “Once the post was brought to our attention, an officer visited the residence of the person who made it to collect details and begin an investigation. That individual refused to provide any further information, repeatedly telling the officer that everything had already been posted online and ultimately asked the officer to leave their property.

Despite this, our officers followed up with area residents and were able to review audio and video footage of the incident.

“Based on the evidence collected,” he said, “we do not currently have a reason to believe a crime was committed or that there is any ongoing threat to the community. We are continuing to investigate the matter out of an abundance of caution and request that if anyone else has information or video regarding this incident to please contact us.”

The Stuart Police Chief concluded by saying, “We want to take this opportunity to strongly encourage the public to report any suspicious activity directly to the Stuart Police Department as soon as it occurs. Social media is not a substitute for a proper report to law enforcement. Our officers may serve a small town, but each one of us lives here and more importantly, each one of us has young children of our own living in this community. Your concerns are our concerns. We are fully committed to the safety of Stuart, and we will always do everything in our power to protect our community – especially our youngest citizens.”