Mt. Juliet, Tenn. – After investigating and thoroughly reviewing a complaint that an adult male was attempting to lure a child away from his parent at Goodwill today, detectives have determined that there is no evidence to substantiate any criminal activity. On Monday, June 20, 2016 around 10:40 a.m., an officer responded to Goodwill, located at 1985 Providence Parkway West, to investigate a report about an attempted child abduction.
A mother stated to the investigating officer that she saw an adult male hand a toy to her 3-year-old son while the adult male was with, what appeared to be, his own son near the front registers. In addition, the mother stated to police that the man attempted to lure her child out the front door by telling the child to “come on”. This interaction prompted the mother to become concerned, and she notified police to investigate.
Due to the serious nature of the allegation, a detective from the Criminal Investigative Division responded to Goodwill to review all available evidence surrounding the interaction, including surveillance video. After reviewing video surveillance, it showed the man enter the store 20 minutes prior to the mother and her children arriving. However, the interaction between the man and the child was not captured on video. Surveillance video did capture the man walk out of the store after standing at the front register. There was no evidence found to substantiate any criminal activity associated with an attempted child abduction.
“It is obvious that the mother became concerned, and she acted appropriately in notifying the police department,” said Lieutenant Tyler Chandler. “We encourage everyone to report suspicious activity immediately so officers can properly look into the situation at all angles.”
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