Abduction attempts, Celina Record

Celina Police Department offers safety advice after abduction attempts Lisa Ferguson, lferguson@starlocalmedia.com Mar 3, 2016 Several recent possible abduction attempts on children in eastern Collin County prompted the Celina Police Department this week to try and educate residents about how to keep youngsters safe. The department on Tuesday added a link to its page on the city’s website (celina-tx.gov) that directs to another page where child abduction and exploitation prevention measures are discussed. “These types of things can occur anywhere, so it’s always important that parents teach their children how to react correctly and keep up with where they’re at,” said Celina Police Assistant Chief Tony Griggs. The page includes a half-dozen facts courtesy of the nonprofit National Center for Missing and Exploited, which provides assistance to law enforcement and families to find missing children, reduce child sexual exploitation and prevent victimization. Included on the page is information about how residents can prevent abductions and report related crimes. Also offered is a link to a free identification kit that parents can download and complete with a physical description and photo to be used in the event that their child goes missing. “If we can get parents to go and take a look at the information … and look at all of the different resources, there are probably some ways that they can see they can better train their kids to know how to react when they’re approached” by a stranger, Griggs said. Possible abduction attempts have occurred in recent weeks in the Collin County cities of Van Alstyne, Anna and Melissa as well as Tom Bean in Grayson County, according to reports. Law enforcement officials in those cities have received similar suspect descriptions of a white male with a long beard and bald head who may have been driving different vehicles during each of the incidents. “That’s what’s making it difficult for us right now to determine if it’s the same guy,” said Lt. Jeff Caponera of the Anna Police Department, which is working with the Van Alstyne Police Department as well as the Texas Rangers in an effort to “develop a person of interest.” The attempted abduction in Anna occurred in late January, Caponera said. A preteen girl was in a residential neighborhood when she was allegedly approached by a man fitting the suspect’s description. The man, who was driving a green minivan that was missing its back windows, attempted to lure the girl into the vehicle. The child, Caponera said, “alleged that she told him ‘no’ and kept on walking, and he kept following her. He offered her a brownie and she refused and ran home and told (her) mom and dad.” In Van Alstyne, Police Chief Tim Barnes said the department received a report on Feb. 25 that an 8-year-old girl playing in a yard noticed a vehicle traveling toward her. The child ran to a neighboring home where a resident called police. “In this case, she described it as a white van with a white male driver with a white beard, which would match the description” of the suspect as reported in other cities, Barnes said. While the department is calling it an incident of “suspicious activity,” Barnes said police are treating the case as a possible attempted abduction. “We want to locate this guy – and I’m sure everybody else does, too – and find out what his motive is,” he said. While no possible attempted abductions or suspect sightings have occurred recently in Celina, Griggs said Celina police are being vigilant. “We should never assume that something is not going to happen here,” he said. Celina’s patrol officers have been briefed about the incidents elsewhere and are watching for individuals with features and vehicles matching those of the suspect. “We still need help from the community to report any kind of suspicious activity they see in their neighborhoods,” Griggs said. “We need them to call us and let us come and check out what it is. That way we can keep track if any of these people are in our neighborhoods.” In the meantime, he said, parents should advise their children that when approached by a stranger “it’s OK to be rude if somebody is making you feel uncomfortable, and tell them `no’ and walk away from them.” Also, “There’s more safety when children aren’t alone,” Griggs explained. Youngsters should be advised “to say with a friend or with a group, and if the group walks away, try not to be left alone.” Finally, “Tell them never to approach or get into somebody’s vehicle without a parent’s permission,” he said. “It’s really unpredictable where a child abduction or exploitation can take place,” Griggs said, “so it’s very important that kids are trained how to react if they are approached by someone.” Follow the Celina Record on Twitter @celinarecord.