Several women have recently reported being accosted or trailed by a man in a vehicle as they have gone for walks in Hadley, Sunderland and Amherst.

The first incident was reported in Hadley on Feb. 26, by a female who said a white male in a silver sports utility vehicle stopped as she walked on Hockanum Road and asked for directions, according to Hadley Police Chief Dennis J. Huckowicz.

After the man asked for directions, he walked down the road behind her as she returned to her home in South Hadley. The suspect was described as being between 40 and 60 years old, with a dark beard and graying dark hair.

Huckowicz said the incidents seem to indicate that different men have been responsible, as the police have received varying descriptions of both the vehicles involved and men involved, Huckowicz stressed that the first incident was the only time where the driver had even spoken to any of the women.

‘There haven’t been any further reports, these have been different incidents and we’ve been hearing different descriptions of both the men and the vehicles,’ he said, ‘there has only been one incident where there’s been any sort of conversation or contact,’ he added, referring to the first case.

In Sunderland, a separate incident occurred the night of March 10, when a woman was walking her dogs on Silver Lane. A man in a light-colored minivan slowed down as he approached the woman and opened his door, leading the woman to grab her dogs and run home. She reportedly told police she heard running footsteps behind her.

Upon entering her home, the woman said she heard a car door slam and a vehicle drive away. She described the man as a white male in his mid-30s to 40s, balding, with an average build.

Sunderland Police said the matter had been addressed, and that while they were unsure if any actual crime had been committed, they had spoken to an individual and nothing further had been reported.

The next two incidents both occurred March 11. A woman in Hadley told police she was walking on Shattuck Road when a man in a tan car slowed to her walking pace, rolled down his passenger window, and followed her for a period without saying anything.

The second instance was reported by a woman who was jogging on Smith Road in Amherst the night of March 11. She said a man slowed his vehicle and spoke to her, though she told police she did not feel threatened.

The Sunderland Police Department said it wants to inform residents there was the potential for crime to be committed and for women to be assaulted or harassed, but that no incident had actually been criminal in nature and that they had looked into the matter and dealt with it.

The SPD, as well as the Amherst Police Department, will soon offer a six-week RAD (Rape Aggression Defense) course to educate women in self-defense and risk avoidance.

Sam Butterfield can be reached at sjbutterfield@gmail.com.