CRESTVIEW — Police officers investigating a possible child abduction attempt at Publix said they believe a relative of the supposed target had an overly active imagination.
As a 7-year-old girl stepped from the car with her mother in the store parking lot the evening of Sept. 20, a passing elderly man greeted the child with an innocent pleasantry, to the effect that he was her “biggest fan,” Crestview Police Department spokesman Cmdr. Andrew Schneider said.
After the girl’s mother intervened, she took the child inside to summon help. She also sent word of the exchange out on social media. A relative quickly shared the story, embellishing the incident, leading lawmen to respond, police said.
An on-scene investigation found no abduction attempt occurred, Schneider said.
“Basically, a family member of the mother blew it out of proportion on social media,” he said.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Publix 'abduction' claim false, police say