Alleged Kidnapping Attempt Under Investigation In Hiram

HIRAM, GA — The Paulding County Sheriff's Office is investigating a report of an alleged attempt to kidnap a child last month in front of a martial arts center in Hiram. The county's 911 center received a call around 7:02 p.m. Jan. 24 of the attempted abduction in the parking lot of Breakthrough Martial Arts Center at 10 Sparks Drive.

Another call was placed to 911 dispatchers from a UPS Store on Jimmy Lee Smith Parkway indicating that the child at the center of the incident had been found. According to the sheriff's office, the boy was at the martial arts center for a class that ended around 6:45 p.m.

The alleged kidnapping attempt occurred when the child and his mother were leaving the establishment and getting into their vehicle, the sheriff's office said Tuesday on its Facebook page. It has interviewed both the child and his mother, and detectives are "receiving conflicting stories from all of the parties involved," the agency added.

"Detectives have combed the area and have not been able to locate any video surveillance footage that shows the incident occurring," the department continued. "Detectives did locate one witness who stated that they did not see the abduction attempt, but that they did see the boy run away from the area."

The boy said the male subject was a white man sporting a beard and was wearing black clothing at the time of the alleged incident. The mother, however, said she did not see what this male subject looked like. The Paulding County Sheriff's Office is also investigating reports that a Good Samaritan help thwart the kidnapping attempt, but have not been able to track this person down.

"The Paulding County Sheriff’s Office takes any and all allegations into the safety of our children very seriously," the department said. "We are looking into this incident to determine what actually took place."

Anyone with information about this case is asked to call the sheriff's office Crimes Against Children Division at (770) 445-6105.

Map via Paulding County Sheriff's Office