SHILLINGTON, Pa. – Five days after a frightening encounter, police are still trying to find the man Caitlyn Olsavsky says followed her daughter as she walked home from an after-school activity.
“She was kind of trying to zigzag down some streets to try to lose him and noticing that he was turning up the hill, turning around, trying to block her and cut her off,” Olsavsky said.
Olsavsky said the driver motioned for her daughter to come closer and offered her money.
“But when that stranger is offering money to an unknown child, that sets the red flag,” Berks County District Attorney John Adams said. “The red flags need to be raised.”
What happened in Shillington also looks similar to cases tracked across the country. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children says nearly two out of three attempted abductions involved someone in a vehicle, and about one in three happened between 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Adams said having uniformed officers near schools can help prevent crime.
“We want to have uniformed officers out there because that deters a lot of activities that would be criminal,” Adams said.
However, the Shillington encounter happened following an after-school activity, when there may not be as many officers nearby.
“The best thing a child can do if someone tries to abduct them is take action,” Adams said. “Don’t be passive or polite. Take action, fight and run, and don’t give in to an offer for money, an offer for a ride.”
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