Man charged with trying to abduct Hall County boy

By Megan Matteucci

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A Murrayville County man is in jail after being arrested for trying to abduct a 10-year-old Hall County boy, police told the Gainesville Times.

Dwayne Seibel, 51, was charged Saturday with attempted kidnapping. He is being held in the Hall County Jail without bond, according to the Gainesville Times. Police continue to investigate what happened.

Police had beefed up patrols in a Hall County subdivision after the attempted abduction of the 10-year-old child.

The boy was playing with several other children in an undeveloped lot at the Overlook subdivision off Hubert Stephens Road on Sunday afternoon when a man in a pickup truck drove up, Hall County Sheriff’s Col. Jeff Strickland said.

The man tried to lure the boy into the truck, but the boy ran off. The man drove off after the boy fled, Strickland said.

The incident occurred around 4 p.m. on Trojan Drive.

Before leaving the subdivision, the man stopped to talk to a woman.

"She was not aware of the incident," Strickland said. "He made a comment that she had a nice puppy."

No other similar incidents have been reported.

Last Monday and Tuesday, police set up roadblocks at the subdivision's entrance and handed out fliers. They also had a command truck set up in the subdivision for residents to talk to detectives.

Deputies scaled back the operation on Wednesday, but still had extra patrols out during school bus pick-up and drop-off times, Strickland said.

Detectives released a sketch based on descriptions from the woman and child. The man was described as a white male with very short hair and a close-shaven goatee. He was seen driving a blue full-size pickup truck.

-- Staff reporter Kristi E. Swartz contributed to this story.