PEABODY — It turns out the attempted kidnapping of a 9-year-old boy near the William A. Welch Sr. Elementary School on Tuesday was a hoax.
In a brief statement issued by Peabody Police Capt. Dennis Bonaiuto late Friday, he said the child recanted his story, closing the book on a four-day investigation.
“The child began changing his story yesterday and his mom called to tell us,” said Chief Thomas Griffin. “We told her we will come talk to him after school on Friday, and when she told her son, he broke down and told the truth.”
Tuesday night, the boy told police he was walking with his scooter on Swampscott Avenue when a man approached him from behind, covered his mouth and dragged him to the school parking lot.
As a result, police increased patrols in the neighborhood, and the school told parents to beware.
“The whole thing never happened,” Griffin said. “We’re just happy about that and we will move forward.”
