Police Investigate Elementary School Abduction Account

VAN NUYS —  Police telephoned and visited more than 100 homes Monday after a third-grade girl reported seeing a classmate abducted, but eventually determined that no child was taken, authorities said.

The search was called off at 8:30 p.m., after officers with the LAPD’s Van Nuys Division had spoken to the parents of every second- through fifth-grade boy who attends Van Nuys Elementary School, said police spokesman Jason Lee.

Lee said investigators believed the girl was telling the truth but they could not determine what she saw.

The girl told police she saw a boy in the third or fourth grade get “pulled into a dark blue minivan” at about 3 p.m. outside the school, located at 6464 Sylmar Ave., Lee said. However, she was unable to identify the boy, making it difficult for police and school officials to learn what really happened, Lee said.

The girl described the abductor as 25 to 30 years old, thin, 6 feet tall and wearing navy blue pants and a short-sleeved shirt.

Officers searched the immediate area block by block and set up a command post at the school.

Det. Nick Spathopoulos said that even though no child had been reported missing, police decided to contact the families of all boys who were leaving school when the girl reported seeing an abduction.

By about 7 p.m., officers had confirmed by telephone that all but about four students in that group were accounted for, then sent patrols to those four homes, Spathopoulos said.

“We don’t want to take any chances,” Lee said. “We need to rule out any children missing.”