Williamson County authorities say they don’t suspect any criminal intent over Monday’s incident where an 8-year-old girl said she was approached by a stranger in the Vista Oaks subdivision in Leander.
The girl was making her way to Pleasant Hill Elementary School.
A postal worker came forward Wednesday and said he had no intention of abducting the girl. He told the little girl to cross the road and she panicked and ran away, he said.
On Tuesday, the Leander Independent School District sent a notice to parents, advising them of what happened.
Authorities said the girl did the right thing by erring on the side of caution and going immediately to a nearby neighbor's house.
At a local restaurant, people spoke about the incident, and their own behavior, has changed over the years.
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No 'stranger'
Monday's incident with a girl running from a stranger was a misunderstanding.
 
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"I'm a little more conscious when giving that child I haven't seen in a while a hug. I just don't want to offend anybody or have anybody react," restaurant patron Lori Bland said.
"You may have good intentions, but you can't only just act on that now or help out or do what you need to do. Me personally, I'm ingrained with, 'What potential ramifications am I going to face if this child is scared of me?' " restaurant patron Cody Bland said.
Many adults said they find it hard to approach children that are not their own these days.
Their worst fear is something like Monday's misunderstanding could happen to them.
"I think if those allegations are brought upon people, sometimes the child's word is taken against theirs, and it would be a tough thing to defend,” restaurant patron Chad Stowe said.
And with the media playing up these events, courts are seeing more child molestation cases.
"A perfect example would be sexual harassment. That wasn't an issue that was brought into courts until the late ‘80s to early ‘90s, when it became part of the public consciousness,” attorney Luke Ellis said.
Regardless of the implications some adults said they would never walk away from a child in need.
