Derby police: Attempted child abduction did not occur

Derby police said Thursday that a child abduction attempt reported by a woman on Oct. 1 did not occur.

The woman told police that a man in a van pulled alongside her and her children in the 200 block of East Kay last week. He offered her candy and cookies, then jumped out and grabbed her 3-year-old daughter when she refused.

Police said in an e-mailed statement Thursday that “after a thorough review of physical evidence and interviews,” authorities determined the report was false.

The woman, the e-mail said, “recanted the initial accusations.”

Police last week issued an alert for a black van and released a composite sketch of a suspect in connection with the report. The woman had told authorities she fended off the attacker by hitting him twice, forcing him to release the child. He then fled in the van west toward K-15.

Derby police Chief Robert Lee thanked the public for its help with the case.

“However, we are no longer looking for the van or the suspect depicted in the composite,” he said in the e-mail.

This story was originally published October 9, 2014 at 4:49 PM with the headline "Derby police: Attempted child abduction did not occur."