A suspected abduction attempt involving a 9-year-old Fox Chase girl and an unidentified man turned out to be a misunderstanding, Philadelphia police said last week.
After investigating the Sept. 8 incident, authorities determined that no crime occurred that day, although the girl did the right thing by reporting it to a parent without hesitation.
On Sept. 9, the police department issued a bulletin describing the episode that occurred on the 8100 block of Elberon Ave. at about 3:30 p.m. The girl said she was walking home from school when she noticed a man who was walking behind her. Sensing trouble, the girl began to run as the man “attempted to grab her by the arm,” the police bulletin said. The girl ran home and told her mother.
By the end of the week, the girl’s school had notified parents that the incident was not an abduction attempt. A Philadelphia police spokeswoman said last week that the girl acted appropriately because she feared that the man posed a threat.
“We’d rather they report it and we can investigate it,” said Officer Christine O’Brien. ••
