Mount Olive police say Facebook scare unfounded; no child abduction
By From staff reports
Published in News on May 12, 2013 1:50 AM
MOUNT OLIVE -- To quell any further rumors caused by a rogue Facebook posting, the Mount Olive Police Chief Brian Rhodes assured the public late last week that there has been no incident involving the attempted kidnapping of a 13-year-old boy.
Instead, there seems to be a discrepancy between North Carolina and New Jersey.
A sketch of a man in aviator sunglasses has been making its rounds on the social networking site claiming that the pictured suspect was involved in an attempted abduction in Mount Olive.
No report of the incident was called in to the Mount Olive Police Department nor to the Duplin or Wayne County Sheriff's Offices, Rhodes said.
Instead, the incident appears to be the result of confusion between Mount Olive, N.C., and Mount Olive, N.J., Rhodes said.
A quick look at the Mount Olive Police Department Facebook page (the New Jersey one) shows the same sketch of the man posted there was followed quickly by a May 8 police report. It reads: "Through the investigative process, it has been determined that reports of a male trying to lure a child into his vehicle are untrue."