Carteret Child Luring Did Not Happen; Social Media Created Panic

CARTERET, NJ — An incident of reported child luring in Carteret Sunday did not occur, the Carteret police chief now announced on Friday.

“All reports made to the Cateret Police Department are taken seriously and complete investigations are conducted,” said Police Chief Dennis McFadden. “At this time, after viewing security camera footage in the area and speaking to eyewitnesses and the alleged victim’s parents, it has been determined that the event did not occur.”

Earlier this week, Carteret police said in a statement they were "investigating" a report of a possible child luring of a 7-year-old girl that occurred at 6 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 29 in the area of Randolph and Edgar streets.

However, Carteret police said they only released that public statement after reports circulated on social media throughout Sunday and Monday.

"The original social media post, which claimed to have come from a friend of the girl’s parents, contained specific details of the alleged attacker but was later changed dramatically to be more ambiguous and vague," said the police chief. "It caused a public outcry and frenzy before police could conduct a thorough investigation ... It is important for victims to file a police report and let police conduct a thorough investigation before information is released to the public."

The public is encouraged to call the Carteret Police Department at 732-541-4181 to report suspicious activity before posting to social media.