Child recants abduction story; wandered off

Published 6:25 pm Tuesday, July 17, 2018

A little girl who was reportedly abducted and released on Sunday now admits she wandered off and got lost.

Port Arthur Police Det. Mike Hebert said all involved are happy with the outcome — the girl is back with her parents and safe and no abduction occurred.

Hebert said the child had walked away from Rampart Apartment complex, 1728 Village East, around 8:35 p.m. Sunday. Detectives pulled surveillance video from about five businesses in the area and were able to show the girl walking by herself. She is also seen crossing Gulfway Drive to the former Market Basket parking lot where she was found by a citizen at 8:55 p.m.

Subscribe to our free email newsletter

Get the latest news sent to your inbox

“She probably got curious and walked away from the complex,” Hebert said.

The girl’s parents are very supportive of the police’s conclusion, he said.

“This is a 6-year-old little girl, sweet as can be. This is the perfect outcome for us,” he said.

A person of interest was interviewed by police and said to be very cooperative and that police were able to corroborate his story on where he was at the time of the incident.