HUDSON FALLS — Police have determined that the woman spotted at a Hudson Falls school last week is not the same person who has been the subject of multiple complaints around the Adirondacks in recent weeks.
Police investigated the complaint further on Monday, after The Post-Star published an article about the school complaint. Officers determined the woman who was outside Margaret Murphy Kindergarten Center was a professor from Japan who was looking for a plaque that commemorates Hudson Falls native Townsend Harris.
Harris was the first American diplomat to visit Japan in the 1800s. The Japanese credit him with opening their country to international trade in the mid-1800s, ending a long era of isolationism, while also helping to establish freedom of religion in Japan.
There is a plaque in his honor at Hudson Falls Middle School, and the professor apparently did not know at which school it was located. The researcher's website shows she is writing a book about Harris.
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Police had been called by a witness who saw the woman at the school Nov. 8. The witness believed she was the person who has been the subject of complaints of strange behavior around the southern Adirondacks, leading to school lockdowns.
The women are both Asian, with similar facial features, and are both petite with dark hair. Hudson Falls Police had shared a video of the encounter with Warren County sheriff's officers, who concluded it appeared to be the same woman who had caused concern (but had not been charged) in North Creek.
Hudson Falls Police Chief Scott Gillis said officers began looking into the situation Monday afternoon, after The Post-Star published an article about the complaint in their jurisdiction. Some readers knew of the researcher's visit to the area, and contacted the paper and police.
Gillis said Hudson Falls Police Detective John Kibling was able to confirm the researcher was the person who was at the school.
Gillis said a number of parents were upset that school officials did not notify them of the incident, but he said there were no allegations of criminal conduct or any wrongdoing and the school had nothing to notify parents about.
"There is no reason for the public to be concerned," he said. "Some parents were upset but there was nothing illegal and no threats."