Stranger Danger: 2 Kids Escape Abduction On Walk Home From School
PONTIAC (WWJ) - Police in Oakland County are searching for two masked men who allegedly tried to abduct a young girl and boy on their walk home from school.
The incident took place around 1:13 p.m. Thursday in the area of Rundell and Nelson streets, in a Pontiac neighborhood near Perry Street and Glenwood Avenue.
A woman told police her 11-year-old daughter and 7-year-old son were walking home from school when they heard a voice behind them. The mother told police a man wearing a mask got out of a minivan and her children could hear someone say, "Hurry up and grab them."
Police say the sister grabbed her brother's backpack and told him to run. The kids ran to the nearby Howard Dell Community Center, where a witness who saw them running took the children inside to make sure they were safe.
The children described the masked man who approached them as being African-American, because they could see his hands, police said. The siblings said the driver was wearing a mask, but that he was also a black male.
They further described the vehicle as a small, light or powder blue minivan with the passenger sliding door window either broken or having tape on it. Police said the witness who took the children into the community center gave the same description of the vehicle, but said she couldn't identify the occupants of the van.
Detectives checked several businesses in the area that have surveillance cameras, but could not locate the suspect vehicle on any video. Patrol officers throughout the area were advised to be on the lookout, but have not yet located the vehicle or suspects.
An investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information on the incident or suspects is urged to contact police at 248-858-4911.
