It is a scary time in Clinton and the surrounding area.

With reports of four separate, but similar, incidents of an intruder — all of which describe a man with the same physical characteristics — confirmed by police, it’s no wonder people are scared.

Homes have been entered. In some cases, a handgun was displayed. Two victims reported they were sexually assaulted. One victim wrestled with the intruder in her home before he ran off.

Ever since the first incident on Nov. 17 in Fulton, followed by three more in Clinton — the latest reported a week ago Monday night — people have been on high alert.

We know there is a lot of fear. Our reporters can see it in the eyes of people who ask them when they are out and about if they’ve heard about the latest supposed attack, whether it be something they heard on the scanner, from a family member or a friend or in passing somewhere.

When those people as well as the many people phoning our office ask about incidents or tell us what they’ve heard, we call the police and check reports to see if there are any updates — whether the number of victims truly has grown.

As of Thursday that number still stands at four.

It's a tough story to report because from what people are telling us, it would seem there are many more victims out there.

And we would even venture to say that the police probably aren't completely sure whether any other reports are linked to the intruder — described as a black male up to 6 feet tall with a thin build and no facial hair.

That's not to say an incident somebody heard from a friend or on the scanner isn't a crime. lt's just that at this time, police say there have been no other incidents related to this spree.

We also know that there are a lot of rumors flying around. Like the Friday night a couple weeks ago when we were told the man had been spotted in nearby Morrison, Ill. — at the same time he was supposedly seen in Camanche. Both of these were circulating in Clinton factories at the same time that Friday night and we were told the next day.

So what can be done to separate fact from fiction?

Well, we think residents are on the right track in reporting unusual incidents to police. We know from the scanner traffic we are hearing in the newsroom that people are reporting strange things as they occur, like open windows and strangers in their neighborhoods.

We would caution that the uptick in reports doesn't mean an increase in crime, it just means a heightened awareness, which is exactly what police are asking residents to have — so we view it as a good thing.

We also want to caution people that new on-the-street reports of attacks could very well be old rumors making the rounds. Remember that Camanche rumor? Just a few days after it circulated at a Clinton factory the previous Friday night, Clinton police and Clinton County Attorney Mike Wolf found themselves at a press conference talking about how there had not been an attack reported in Camanche. They, too, addressed the amount of rumors flying around.

Their directive was for residents to call the police with such information. Police will then check out the report to determine if an incident has happened, whether a crime was committed and if so, who is responsible.

Again, more reports might lead to more scanner traffic and police knocking on doors — and more rumors — but investigating all of those reports could turn into tips and leads that have merit in this case.

We, in the meantime, will keep analyzing police reports on a daily basis to report them to you. If they are reports that are not indicated by police to be linked to these incidents, they will appear in our Crime Watch section. If they are thought to be connected, they will become their own story as an update that we will published in the newspaper and on our Web site, www.clintonherald.com.

At times, we will run stories that say there is nothing new to report, which is what we did in Wednesday's Clinton Herald.

We also are urging our readers to watch out for each other. Accompany women to their cars after work. Make sure you have strong working locks at your home — and use them. Make sure your windows are locked. Check on your loved ones to see if they need help securing their property.

Actually, they're the same common sense tips to prevent being a victim and should be followed all the time, not just in the wake of this set of intruder reports.

In closing, our thoughts are with the victims that have been preyed upon — we know that the sense of violation of property and person are life-changing events.

We also worry for our readers who are struggling with memories from similar events that happened long ago but have been stirred up by the fear associated with these most recent reports.

Our hope is that the intruder will be apprehended immediately and that there will be no more victims in his path from now until the time he is caught.