Port Alberni RCMP are praising an unknown teenager who stopped a child abduction last Monday, saying his actions allowed a girl to escape an attempted kidnapper who remains on the loose.
According to RCMP, a 10-year-old girl was walking on Bishop Avenue near John Howitt Elementary School on Oct. 10 around 3:30 p.m. when an unknown man allegedly grabbed her and told her to come with him.
Mounties say a teen boy then intervened and pushed the man away, allowing the girl to safely return home where RCMP were called to several hours later.
Over the last few days, investigators with Port Alberni’s Major Crime Unit have confirmed where the incident occurred and canvassed the area for CCTV footage, according to Const. Richard Johns in a news release Sunday.
“Both the RCMP and the family are grateful for the teenager’s actions in helping the victim,” Johns said. “However, we have yet to identify this Good Samaritan, and we would like to speak to them and obtain any photos or details that they may have.”
In the release, police describe the suspect as a taller Caucasian man in his 30s or 40s and say he was wearing black pants, a grey T-shirt, white shoes and a blue surgical mask during the attempted abduction.
Port Alberni RCMP are asking anyone who was in the area of Bishop Avenue between Grieve Road and Morgan Crescent North at the time and observed or has dashcam footage of the man to call the detachment at 250-723-2424.
