Peabody Family Shares Details Of Attempted Abduction

PEABODY, MA — More details emerged Thursday about an attempted abduction in Peabody. In a post widely circulated on social media, the nine-year-old boy's mother wrote about a Hispanic man in his forties who tried to drag the boy into a nearby wooded area as she and the boy's sisters stood just a few feet away. The attempted abduction happened near Swampscott Avenue and Washington Street around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.

The woman said the man "aggressively" and "violently" covered the boy's mouth and eyes in a headlock. As he dragged the boy into the woods, he readjusted his grip on the boy's scooter, which he was also carrying.

"My son knew that if the man got him any further into the woods he was not going to be able to be heard or seen or helped," the mother wrote. "HORRIFIED (AND) IN SHOCK, my nine-year-old son with all his little body could manage pulled away and hit the man and ran as fast as he could, not looking back once."

The incident happened about 20 feet from the family's home. The scooter was later found next to a dumpster at an elementary school about an eighth of a mile away. Police searched the area with K9 units but were unable to locate the man. On Wednesday, police and school officials issued a warning to parents.

"I'm truly scared that this man is not finished," the mother wrote. "I'm truly scared that this man is not finished. He did this out in the open with a child surrounded by other people."

In the notice to parents, Peabody police said they would increase patrols near schools in the city as they look for the man, who was described as being about 5'9" and was wearing a red hat or a red, hooded sweatshirt.

Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).