WICKLIFFE, Ohio — Wickliffe Police say what was reported by witnesses as a possible abduction attempt of an 11-year-old girl Tuesday was actually a woman who was concerned about the student's safety walking during heavy traffic and wanted to help.
At about 3 p.m. Thursday, police located the vehicle that was believed to be involved in the incident and spoke to the driver, a 71-year-old woman, police said in an updated news release. She told detectives she was concerned about the girl due to the heavy volume of traffic and stopped momentarily to see if the girl wanted a ride home.
The woman was apologetic to the detectives and said she was trying to offer help, the release states. Police told her how the action was perceived by the student and she said she understood.
"As this incident appears to be a misunderstanding, no criminal charges will be sought by the police department," the release states. "We applaud the juvenile student’s decision to not enter a stranger’s vehicle and the efforts of the witnesses in stopping to offer their help to the student."
The incident was first reported earlier Thursday by Wickliffe Police as a possible attempted abduction after the department received a 911 call, with the caller saying a man in an SUV beckoned the girl to get in his vehicle Tuesday afternoon.
Officers responded to the intersection of Lloyd Road and Clayton Avenue and learned that the student had been walking north on Lloyd Road when a person in a dark gray Volkswagen SUV with dark rims stopped at the stop sign and waved to her to cross the street, according to a news release from Wickliffe police.
The student walked across the intersection and the VW stopped next to her, police said. It was reported that the person spoke to the girl through the rolled-up window and gestured towards the rear of the vehicle.
The student became frightened, turned around and walked away, the release states. The vehicle then drove north on Lloyd Road, continuing past Grand Boulevard.
Two bystanders witnessed the event and called 911.
Wickliffe Police said they have not received other reports of similar incidents happening recently.
Download the News 5 Cleveland app now for more stories from us, plus alerts on major news, the latest weather forecast, traffic information and much more. Download now on your Apple device here, and your Android device here.
You can also catch News 5 Cleveland on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, YouTube TV, DIRECTV NOW, Hulu Live and more. We're also on Amazon Alexa devices. Learn more about our streaming options here.
