Police: No New Developments in Possible Attempted Abduction Cases

Police are continuing to follow up on information regarding a reported abduction attempt in Princeton Township. Any new information will be releases as soon as possible, police said. Officials are coordinating efforts to gather more information and remind residents about safety precautions.

“We are working together in Princeton Borough and Princeton Township, and we are working with the schools,” Borough Police Lt. Sharon Papp told the Borough Council Tuesday night.

Papp said the Princeton Township incident last week was similar to an incident in Lawrence last month.

“Without going into a lot of detail, it appeared to be the same individual in Princeton Township and Lawrence,” Papp said.

In Princeton Township, an eight-year-old boy told police he was dragged into the woods by an unknown male while playing in the backyard of a residence on Provinceline Road between Cherry Valley Road and Drakes Corner Road on Oct. 16. According to the child, he was able to run to safety after the man tripped and lost his grip on him. The child described the man who dragged him into the woods as a white male, approximately 5’2-5’5 with greenish blue eyes, wearing a black leather jacket, black wool gloves and a black mask.

In Lawrence Township, an 11-year-old boy reported last month that he was grabbed from behind by someone who tried to carry him into the woods behind the Lawrence Square Village development off of Quakerbridge Road. The boy told police he was walking along a rain basin behind the development when a man grabbed him from behind. The boy told police the man picked him up and carried him up the slope of the basin toward the woods, but the boy said he was able to break away and run home. He could not describe the man, but said the man was wearing a black shirt and black sweatpants.