The principal of W.E. Cherry Elementary School in Orange Park sent out a letter to parents Thursday after a report of a man in a car offering a girl a ride home Wednesday afternoon.

Clay County sheriff's deputies said the 10-year-old girl ran home and told her mother.

They said the man in the car followed the girl near The Park at Blanding Apartments, just a few blocks from where 7-year-old Somer Thompson disappeared last month before she was found killed days later.

The girl's mother said her fifth-grade daughter was walking back from the mailbox when the man leaving the complex started following her and asked her if she wanted a ride.

Deputies said the girl told him no and ran back to her apartment.

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The letter from the principal stated one the school's staff members was on her afternoon post and saw the car speeding out of the complex.

"It is absolutely terrifying," said Amanda Mings, whose 6-year-old son goes to the elementary school. "It can happen anytime -- daylight, dusk, dawn. People are getting ruthless, and you know they don't care what time of day it is, how old the children are."

Police described the man as being in his 20s, with dark, spiky hair.

They said he was in a faded gray, older model four-door Honda with a loud muffler.

If you have information, you're asked to call the Clay County Sheriff's Office at 904-213-6104.