Update: Man behind suspicious visits to schools, church served trespassing notices

A man whose unannounced visits to area schools and a church this week and last prompted two lockdowns and left administrators and parents on edge was found by deputies this morning and served with trespassing notices.

The man, who was not identified by name in a Beaufort County Sheriff's Office news release issued just before noon Tuesday, was served the notices after reportedly causing a disturbance about 10 a.m. at All Saints Church on Meeting Street on Hilton Head Island.

The release identified the man as a citizen of Canada who is currently homeless. He is described as a white man of average height and build between the ages of 45 and 55.

The man was not detained or arrested "since no criminal activity has been identified," the release said.

"If he turns up on school property again, he will be charged with (misdemeanor) trespass," Capt. Bob Bromage of the Sheriff's Office said.

The man has no criminal record in Beaufort County, according to the court's website.

Bluffton Police Department spokesperson Joy Nelson said Tuesday that the man was the subject of reports from Kingston Police Department in Canada for making threats, but none involved any arrests.

His unannounced visits across the area fueled concern and discussion among parents on social media.

He previously visited the Church of the Cross and Cross Schools in Bluffton, St. Francis Catholic School on Hilton Head Island and St. Gregory the Great Catholic Church in Okatie.

In the wake of those visits, the Sheriff's Office had extra patrols in those areas Monday night.

Before his visit Tuesday morning to All Saints, the man's most recent appearance was Monday at St. Francis. That prompted an email to parents from Principal Brian Pope.

"Today at 3:45 p.m., this man appeared in the church and was asked to leave the premises by one of the church's maintenance personnel," Pope wrote. "The school was notified of the occurrence and I placed the school on a modified lockdown with all children in the school to remain in the building and in a room with the doors locked."

The lockdown lasted about 10 minutes before school staff determined the man was no longer there.

"At no time did the gentleman come on the school property or try to enter the premises," Pope wrote.

The Beaufort County Sheriff's Office was notified and two deputies came to the campus to interview the maintenance staff member, the email said. Deputies did not find the man.

The same suspect was first reported to the Bluffton Police Department by the Church of the Cross on Jan. 19 after he appeared twice on campus that day as well as the night before at a school function.

The man appeared to be "quite agitated and appeared unstable," according to an email sent to parents by the Cross School's administration after he attended an event held on the church's campus Jan. 18.

The man approached a staff member during the event and asked her several questions about the church's children's program, the report said.

He asked to speak with a pastor, said he was homeless and wanted to know if the church could help him.

The man left briefly only to return later that night as the staff member was leaving, the report said. She told him the pastor had left, and the man then became "irate" and left in a car, the report said.

The next day, he came back to the Church's office on Calhoun Street around 12 p.m. and asked again to speak with a pastor, the report said.

He showed the pastor his Canadian passport and said he was in U.S. on diplomatic asylum, the report said.

He also said he had "several wealthy friends who lived on Daufuskie Island" before he was escorted from the property.

Officers were unable to find the man and increased patrols in the area, the report said.

Students of the school were told to remain inside the building that day, according to the email, and parents were asked to exercise caution when entering and exiting the building.

The man also visited Bluffton Self Help last week.

He was also reported after he visited that office and said he needed help obtaining political asylum from Canada, according to two police department reports.

Police were able to get the man's name after he showed a Bluffton Self Help staff member a copy of his Canadian passport, a police report said.

The man also visited a men's retreat and bible study at St. Gregory the Great Catholic Church Jan. 18, but church staff did not report him to law enforcement, according to Principal Christopher Trott.

"He had a lot of questions about faith in general," Trott said Tuesday. "The people who were there just felt it was a man who has a troubled soul. They didn't feel the need to call police."

Trott said he has informed his staff of the man's visit to heighten awareness and increase monitoring of students.

Follow Caitlin Turner on Twitter at twitter.com/Cait_E_Turner.

This story was originally published January 26, 2016 at 11:22 AM with the headline "Update: Man behind suspicious visits to schools, church served trespassing notices."