DeBary, FL- In an ongoing investigation, Volusia County Sheriff's detectives are asking a possible suspect/witness to come forward. They are looking for a "white female with red hair, about 13 years old, and riding a larger pink bike." Detectives say a witness reported she had seen a man driving a small, black Honda following a girl fitting that description in the area of Wisteria Dr. and West Highbanks Rd. in DeBary, on January 11, 2019.
The woman who reported the incident told deputies that the girl told her the suspect repeatedly asked her to get in his car and that her mother had sent him to pick her up. The girl said she did not know the man and knew that he was lying. The girl then left the scene.
Detectives say that the description of the suspect and the circumstances are similar to those in another case involving 62-year-old Walter Hernandez of Sanford. Hernandez was arrested in the evening of that same day, on charges of stalking a woman out jogging in DeBary.
In the past month, detectives have been working to identify the girl, but have been unable to do so.
Hernandez remains in custody at the Volusia County Jail on no bond. Besides the charge involving the stalking of a female jogger in DeBary, DeLand Police charged him on January 24, 2019, with aggravated stalking of a minor under the age of 16. That incident occurred on January 7, 2019 when a juvenile victim reported a stranger following her while she was walking home from the bus stop.
There are two other charges against Hernandez, one from Sanford PD for resisting arrest without violence and the other from Orange County, a warrant for violation of probation. VCSO spokesperson Andrew Gant said Hernandez has a criminal history that includes previous charges of kidnapping, stalking and indecent exposure. He was also previously registered as a sex offender.
Anyone with information that could identify the potential juvenile victim on the bike in DeBary case is asked to contact the Sheriff's Office at 386-668-3830 or email the detective on the case at
mcox@vcso.us.
