‘Suspicious’ man dressed as Santa comes forward to police

Ontario Provincial Police say a suspicious man who was seen at a park dressed as Santa Claus has come forward after he found out police were looking for him.

On Monday, OPP sent out a news release asking residents for help identifying the man who was seen attempting to speak with children at Centennial Park in Norfolk County.

They said several children were tobogganing when the man tried to wave the children over to where he was located. He then got into the passenger side of a SUV and left the area.

Once the man heard media reports that police were looking for him, he immediately contacted police. The man told investigators he was in the area taking pictures with a professional photographer and had waved to the children while saying, “Ho, Ho, Ho, Merry Christmas.”

“The OPP would like to thank our media partners for assisting officers in bringing this incident to a successful conclusion,” said OPP Cst. Ed Sanchuk. “I would also like to thank the concerned parent for reporting this incident and the male dressed as Santa Claus for immediately coming forward.”