Barre Police investigating reports of possible child abduction threats

BARRE, Vt. (WCAX) - Police in Barre are investigating reports of possible attempts at child abduction.

It happened Friday and Saturday. Officials say an eight-year-old boy reported an altercation with a man in his 40s driving a blue Ford pickup on Brook and North Seminary Streets. Police are not saying what the man allegedly said to the boy but that the boy told officers he felt as if he was going to be abducted.

Barre Police Chief Brad Vail says after hearing about the incident on social media, another resident reported a similar interaction with a similar truck following three young boys on Merchant Street. He says the department is taking the reports seriously. “We have to treat it like it was a possible abduction, even if it wasn’t. The fact that it is an eight-year-old child that relayed the information -- we’re obviously concerned of the validity, but we’re not discounting that,” he said.

He says detectives have obtained security footage of the reported area but were not able to identify any vehicles matching hat description. The chief says it’s possible the incidents did, in fact, happen but the child could have given the wrong street names.

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