Nocatee’s Facebook pages were ablaze with concern over the weekend after residents reported two people traveling in a suspicious white van and using puppies to engage with local children.
Some posters were worried that the pair — a man and a younger boy — were engaged in a human trafficking operation and had identified Nocatee as a hunting ground.
Pictures of the van — including zoomed-in shots of a license plate and images of a man holding a puppy — spread quickly across multiple pages as residents brainstormed countermeasures.
Some began clamoring for resident patrols and increased law enforcement presence.
One person posted what they said was the driver’s name, along with a lengthy list of criminal offenses, while others said they saw a mattress placed in the van’s rear.
It was unclear if any residents spoke with the duo during their appearances at several locations on both Saturday and Sunday.
The St. Johns County Sheriffs Office was alerted to their presence and conducted an investigation.
The agency said Tuesday that the van was being used to make routine deliveries in Ponte Vedra and Palm Valley and that no criminality was involved.
SJSO spokesperson Taylor Levesque said the delivery driver brought his son with him along his route over the weekend, along with some puppies.
They walked the pooches at several local parks during their routes.
“Detectives determined numerous children approached asking to pet the puppies, and found no evidence of children being coerced, lured, forced into the vehicle, or the driver trying to sell the puppies,” Levesque said.
Investigators verified the driver’s employment status, and saw numerous packages in the van awaiting delivery.
Images released by the department did not reveal a mattress or any other bedding in the vehicle’s rear, only a dolly and some cardboard boxes.
