Boy in Pittsboro says man approached him at neighborhood bus stop

PITTSBORO, Ind. (WISH) — Police are investigating an attempted child abduction reported Wednesday morning in a housing subdivision.

Police said on Facebook at 1 p.m. that the attempted child abduction may have happened shortly after 7 a.m. Wednesday in Jefferson Park by Arbor Homes subdivision. That’s about 2 miles west of the I-74 interchange with State Road 267 in Hendricks County.

Police said in a news release and a Facebook post issued later Wednesday afternoon that “a possible alleged child abduction” happened at the corner of Ambassador and Declaration drives while a 9-year-old boy was waiting at a bus stop. The boy said a heavy-set man with a “half beard,” a black and white striped shirt, dark pants and white shoes approached him driving a white van with dents and scratches.

Police earlier Wednesday searched for a van believed to have been used in the attempted child abduction. The department, however, noted that a van posted on its Facebook page about 9 a.m. Wednesday was not the vehicle police are seeking.

The man asked the boy if he wanted ice cream, and the boy “asked where his logos were on the van,” the release said. “At this time, the driver exited his vehicle through the rear doors on the van. The juvenile stated he saw several plastic bags that did not have blood on them. The juvenile then took off running from the van to a nearby pond. At that time the driver of the vehicle yelled an expletive statement to the juvenile and drove from the scene. The incident was posted to Facebook via a private neighborhood group page.”

Police began their investigation after they were alerted to the post on the neighborhood social media page.

Anyone with information was asked to call Hendricks County Communications Center at at 317-839-8700 or 911.

Pittsboro is a town of 3,800 about 5 miles west of Indianapolis.