Spalding County, GA (WGCL) — Orchard Hill Park in Spalding County was nearly empty much of Sunday afternoon. Police say many parents are afraid to take their children out after learning a woman tried to abduct a child there Wednesday. That woman has been linked to two other abduction attempts going into the weekend in Spalding County.
“I was telling the girls I thought it was really weird that there is no one here today Labor Day weekend. It’s really odd,” said Dawn Kasper, who was just learning of the attempted abductions from CBS46.
“I have four kids and we live here in Milner, and when I heard about that incident with that lady. That’s terrifying to me,” Kasper told CBS46.
Officers are canvassing Spalding county showing sketches of the suspect, produced by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. The woman is described as having shoulder-length blonde hair, blue eyes with acne-like scaring on her cheeks. She is approximately 5’8”, slim build, and was wearing jeans and a t-shirt. She’s been seen driving and getting out of a white van.
“One is a white Chevy Astro van. One is a 90s model Ford Aerostar van. Neither of them have a tag that was able to be provided,” said Spalding County Sheriff’s Sgt. Ray Hightower.
Police believe the woman has tried to abduct four different children in Griffin, Milner, and Orchard Hill in the last few days. She initially pretended to be an employee of the Division of Family and Children’s Services.
“One instance that we have, she approached a mother at a house and told her this is her 24-hour notice that would in the next 24 hours DFACs would be coming to take her kids from the home,” Hightower told CBS46. “While she is conversating with the mother, she tried to reach down and pick the child up. The mother slapped her hands away when that occurred. The female got into a van and left the scene.”
Wednesday, the woman approached a group of unattended children in Orchard Hill Park and walked off with a five year old boy, promising to show him her puppies. Another woman saw it happening. When she tried to stop it, the suspect tried to hit her, then ran off without the boy.
“The quintessential line for an abductor is, ‘do you want to come see my puppies,’” Hightower said.
“Thank God for her stepping in because a lot of people now like to mind their own business, and I think that really we all need to take care of each other in this time and age,” Kasper said.
Police are asking anyone with tips or leads to call 911 immediately.
“We don’t want people having a sense of fear,” Hightower said. “To this point, no child has been hurt or abducted, and we pray that it stays that way and we are actively working every lead we get.”
