ST. GEORGE, Utah, June 4, 2017 (Gephardt Daily) — St. George Police say an alleged kidnapping attempt at a Target store was actually simply a misunderstanding.
The incident happened at the store located at 275 S. River Road just after 3 p.m. Wednesday, the St. George Police Department said in an initial news release.
A St. George mother-of-one posted on Facebook Thursday that a woman had tried to abduct her 2-year-old son while she was shopping at the Target.
Her post, which has been shared more than 4,000 times, says: “I was in the children’s clothing section and I turned around for a second. When I turned back around a woman had taken the stroller with him in it and started walking away with him!
“She quickly apologized but wouldn’t take her hand off the stroller right away. She said ‘I’m so sorry I have no idea what I was doing.’ She touched my arm as she said this and moved on.”
The concerned mom added the woman looked “harmless” and “had a nice soft spoken calming voice.”
St. George Police Department posted a statement on Facebook that after the incident, officers immediately began working with detectives to view video footage and identify the other woman involved.
“After reviewing the security footage and interviewing both the mother and the other woman, it was determined that the incident was not an attempted kidnapping,” police said in the statement.
“Long story short, the two women were in the same area of the store, shopping. The second woman had reached for what she thought was her cart and mistakenly grabbed the handle of the stroller. As she was letting go; realizing the handle was different than a shopping cart handle, the mother noticed and confronted her. The woman explained what happened, apologized, parted ways and both continued shopping.”
The statement added the police department’s first concern is the safety of the community.
“In incidents such as these, the St. George Police Department asks the public to continue to have faith in us and know, with confidence, that we are first and foremost concerned about the safety of our community. We will investigate thoroughly and, if it’s determined there is an immediate danger, we will let you know. Otherwise, we will continue to do what we do because we care about you.”
