No charges will be filed against a delivery driver after an 11-year-old girl claimed he tried to abduct her, Paulding County authorities said Friday.
Sheriff’s detectives identified the driver from images of his white delivery van released Thursday. The girl said she was walking her dog Wednesday night when someone in a van told her to “get inside.”
“At this time, due to the inconsistency of the alleged juvenile victim’s story combined with the fact that the male delivery driver has been more than cooperative, there will be no charges filed in this case,” sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. Ashley Henson said in a statement.
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The girl reported the incident to her mother, who called 911. She said she ran straight home after the van pulled alongside her and her dog on School Road in the Burnt Hickory community.
Deputies responded about 6:15 p.m. Wednesday and searched the rural area in north Paulding but came up short. A van matching the girl’s description was seen on surveillance footage at nearby businesses.
Henson said the driver of that vehicle, who works for a popular delivery service, was delivering a package in the area Wednesday when he spotted the girl and her dog. He told detectives it was not his usual route and he was likely on the phone seeking directions when he passed her.
“When he saw the juvenile, the driver indicated that he slowed down because the child and dog were close to the road but that he never stopped or spoke to her,” Henson said.
Detectives also reviewed time stamps on the package he delivered and checked the GPS installed in his vehicle. They determined the driver did not make any additional stops.
After authorities spoke with the girl, she agreed the van never stopped and said she could not be sure if the man was talking to her or someone else. She just got scared, Henson said.
“We appreciate everyone’s diligence in this case and want the public to know that we take any allegations of child abduction and kidnapping very seriously,” he said.
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