GARDAÍ ARE appealing for information following what they describe as the attempted abduction of a teenage girl near Ferbane, Co Offaly, on Tuesday evening.
The girl, who is understood to be 12 or 13, was cycling along a rural road when she was approached by a middle-aged man in a white van at about 8.30pm. She has told gardaí the man asked for directions before opening the rear of his van and trying to force her into the vehicle.
Birr-based Supt Dave Kavanagh said gardaí responded to a call at Moyclare, Ferbane, “where it appears a young girl was cycling her bike at about 8.30pm from her home to a friend’s house who lives nearby. During that little journey of less than 500m she met a man driving a white van,” he said.
“The man stopped and engaged her in conversation, looking for a house in the locality. The man got out of the van and chatted to the girl and then opened the back door and tried to pull her into the van, so there was a short struggle and the girl managed to wrestle herself free and run to a neighbour’s house and raise the alarm.”
Gardaí are following a number of lines of inquiry in relation to the incident. The scene was preserved and door-to-door inquiries were being conducted yesterday.
“I visited the scene and we launched a full investigation into the matter. There is a team of local detectives and uniformed gardaí working on it with the assistance of the divisional scenes of crime from Tullamore as well,” said Supt Kavanagh.
He said gardaí wished to speak to a man described as middle-aged, small in stature, with dark hair. and who was wearing glasses. “He was driving in a white van, a car-type van, something similar to the small post-office van you see making deliveries house to house. The accent it appears is nondescript, not unusual.”
He said the man went in the direction of Ferbane and would have had to travel through Belmont or into Ferbane. Gardaí have canvassed homes in the area but have appealed for more information. “We would like to broaden the appeal for anybody in the Ferbane, Banagher or that west Offaly area, if they saw anything suspicious yesterday evening, particularly after 6 o’clock, any sightings of a similar van or a man of that description acting suspiciously.”
Gardaí are appealing to anyone with information to contact Birr Garda station 057-9169710 or the Garda confidential line on 1800-666 111.