‘Attempted abduction’ of Fairfax Co. student never happened

Fairfax County, Virginia, police have determined that the “attempted abduction” of a Belle View Elementary School student earlier in the week was a fake.

They announced their findings in a Thursday release.

“Late today, after an extensive several day investigation detectives have determined the event did not occur,” police said.

“Although this is now deemed to be a false report, detectives would like to thank the community and multiple media outlets who helped share what was reported to the police department.”

On Tuesday, a Belle View Elementary School student told administrators that a man had approached from behind and picked the student up in the 6600 block of Fort Hunt Road between 4:15 p.m. and 5 p.m.

Will Vitka

William Vitka is a Digital Writer/Editor for WTOP.com. He's been in the news industry for over a decade. Before joining WTOP, he worked for CBS News, Stuff Magazine, The New York Post and wrote a variety of books—about a dozen of them, with more to come.

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