Prince George RCMP seek dashcam footage in search for girl taken away in grey minivan
RCMP treating possible abduction as isolated from previous incidents of men approaching children in vans
An RCMP helicopter was deployed as part of the investigation into a possible abduction near a popular skate park in Prince George, B.C., on Monday afternoon.
According to witnesses, a girl between the ages of 12 and 14 was near the intersection of Carney Street and Massey Drive shortly after 1 p.m. PT, when a man driving an older-model grey minivan pulled over, picked her up and drove away.
Bystanders said the girl appeared to be distressed and police were called.
RCMP say they don't know what, if any, relationship the roughly 50-year-old man driving the minivan has with the girl.
Witnesses sought
The man in the incident was described as approximately 50 years old, five feet ten inches, with grey hair and scruffy facial hair. He was wearing a grey shirt with ripped jeans.
The girl is described as between 12 and 14 years old, five feet two inches, with short brown hair with blue streaks, and wearing a checkered tank top.
The grey minivan was last seen driving northbound on Carney Street toward 15th Avenue.
Police hope to hear from anyone with information about Monday's incident, and are asking witnesses to contact RCMP or CrimeStoppers.
They are also asking for anyone with dashcam footage from between noon and 2:30 p.m. PT Monday in the areas of Massey Drive, Winnipeg Street, Carney Street, the Parkwood Mall or 15th Avenue to contact officers.
Event being treated as isolated: police
It comes a month after a series of apparent abduction attempts in the Hart area north of the city, though police say Monday's incident appears to be isolated.
In those cases, police received three separate reports of men in white vans approaching children.
In all three of the reports, police say the men asked the children to help them with their keys. Police are treating those three incidents as linked.
"While we recognize that there are some similarities to the Hart incidents with men approaching children, we are currently investigating this as an isolated incident based on the information that we have," Prince George RCMP Cpl. Sonja Blom said.
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