Nassau Police Searching For Men Who Tried To Lure Boy Into Van

RUSSELL GARDENS, NY — Nassau County police detectives are asking Russell Gardens residents to check security video footage in an effort to help them locate a pair of men who tried to lure a 10-year-old boy into a van while he was walking to his school bus stop on Thursday.

Detectives are now investigating the encounter as an attempted abduction, which they describe as isolated. The boy ran home to his mother who called police and they began canvassing the neighborhood which continued on into Friday afternoon, said Det. Lt. Richard LeBrun, the commanding officer of the Public Information Bureau.

“At this point, what we are trying to do is get the word out to all homeowners, all the residents in the area to please check your Ring doorbells, check your surveillance systems,” LeBrun told reporters at a news conference near the school bus stop. “Make sure if you see something suspicious, call us.”

Detectives said the boy was at the corner of South Middle Neck Road and Melbourne Street at about 8:25 a.m. on when a man driving a grayish-white utility van stopped in front of him. A man stepped out of the van’s passenger door and gestured to the van, telling the boy to get inside, at which point the boy ran back to his home, police said. The man got back inside the van and the driver drove away in an unknown direction, police said.

The man who tried to lure the boy into the van is described as a white man standing about 5 feet, 7 inches tall and weighing about 140 lbs, police said. He has an average build, dark hair and was wearing a short, black winter jacket, police said. LeBrun said police do not have an age description for him, nor do they have a description of the second man.

LeBrun credited the boy and his mother for their quick-thinking actions.

“This 10-year-old did a great job,” he said, adding that the boy got away quickly and told his mother who reported the encounter to police who immediately began canvassing the area. “Basically, everyone did as they should.”

The parents of a female high school student informed Seaford School District administrators that she was approached near the school by a woman in a white pickup truck who offered her a ride home and said that she was a police officer Patch reported last week. A district spokesman said the parents told administrators that they would file a report, but police said that they did not have a record of one.

Police said anyone with information about the attempted abduction in Russell Gardens should call 6th Squad detectives at 516-573-6653 or contact Nassau County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-244-TIPS, a confidential police hotline where callers can remain anonymous.