SOUTH BERWICK – A man who raised suspicions after asking children in Portsmouth, N.H., to help him find his puppy was discovered to be a sex offender.

Police say their investigation led them to Michael Brennan, 64, an unregistered sex offender who’d been living in South Berwick.

Brennan was arrested last week on an unrelated warrant out of York. Records showed he was a sexual offender and had not registered since October of 2005, police said.

Police credited news reports from Foster’s Daily Democrat with bringing their attention to the case.

Police Chief Dana Lajoie said he’d seen a previous report about Brennan asking children in the Panaway Manor area to help him find his puppy.