Midlothian PD Investigating Possible Attempted Child Abduction
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MIDLOTHIAN (CBSDFW.COM) - Police in Midlothian are looking for a man who they say may have been trying to lure a child away in a van.
As officials continue searching for the person, officers are stepping up patrols at nearby J.R. Irvin Elementary School. Police say, for the next several days at least, there will be more patrol cars in the mornings and afternoons -- when kids are walking to and from school.
According to investigators, it was around 4:30 Monday afternoon when a man in a baby-blue colored van, near Avenue I and South 5th Street, approached a boy believed to be about 12-years-old.
The man only asked the boy if he needed a ride. Officers say he was not aggressive and never got out of the vehicle. The boy ran to a woman who witnessed the incident from her car and she called 911.
Bobby Worley lives in the area and is glad the boy wasn't harmed. "This witness did the right thing and the kid did the right thing, thank goodness. Probably should use this as a learning experience for other children on how to react in a similar situation," he said.
As it stands, investigators are working to identify the driver and find out his intention. Midlothian Police Department Captain John Spann said, "Our concern is that somebody could just go up to a strange child and ask them if they needed a ride home because that's out of the norm, especially in these days in time."
School resource officers are also on heightened alert and will be talking to the boy today to try and learn more about the incident. Police say if this was a misunderstanding they're hoping the man will come forward and clear it up.
