by Geoff Fox
A social media post regarding a possible child abduction at Save A Lot was widely circulated on Monday, October 15 but police have said there have have been no cases of child abduction in the area.
According to the post, an older man tried to take an 11-month old child from a cart at the Hancock grocery store with the mother beside the cart. A photo of the man’s truck, which was taken of one of the town’s video cameras, had a timestamp indicating the incident happened sometime after 10 a.m. Monday morning.
As of Tuesday morning, the post had been shared over 2,700 times.
Hancock Police Sgt. Rick Cook said police agencies investigated the incident and found no intent on the man’s part to actually abduct the child. He said the man was in his 80s. Police also indicated in a social media post of their own there was no danger to others.
Sgt. Cook said the man did pick up the child, but told the mother the child was “so cute I could take him.”
Police searched the man’s home and found nothing to indicate he would abduct a child.
“[Did it] sound creepy to us? Absolutely!” Cook said Monday evening.
Officer Faith of the Hancock Police Department was investigating the incident and was assisted by detectives from the Washington County Sheriff’s Department.
In a comment on the police’s social media post, Hancock Police Chief Rich Miller said police believe it was a lapse in judgment by the man and they’ll be speaking with the Washington County State’s Attorney to see if any criminal charges should be pursued.
Cook said there have been no cases of child abduction in Hancock “whatsoever.”
