Brother, sister talk to police after attempted kidnapping
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Brother, sister talk to police after attempted kidnapping
By JARED MORGAN – Tuesday, 25 November 2008
A brother and sister at the centre of an attempted kidnapping in Invercargill will be spoken to today by police and a psychologist specially trained in interviewing children.
Acting Detective Senior Sergeant Mike Bowman, of Invercargill CIB, said the children would be interviewed to gain extra insight into the attempted abduction, which happened in daylight on Sunday.
A man tried to grab the four-year-old girl and an eight-year-old boy as they played at the rugby league grounds on the corner of Ness and Ettrick streets about 3pm.
The man then grabbed the boy, but the pair managed to escape when the man went to open the van door.
He attempted to pull the girl by her arm into a white van but the boy held her other arm.
"It's certainly not something we've had for a long time here and of course one (attempted kidnapping) is too many," he said.
The incident and its timing was of concern to police, Bowman said.
THe officer in charge of the investigation, Detective Fred Shandley, said police planned to interview the boy today while his sister, because of her age, would be spoken to by a psychologist.
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