No attempted abduction in Sugar Grove

A report of an attempted child abduction in Sugar Grove this week has turned out to be a case of mistaken intent, police said Friday.

Sugar Grove police say the suspects are the grandparents of a child who lives in the area, and that the grandfather likes to give candy to children at his grandchild’s bus stop.

On Tuesday an 11-year-old boy reported that when he got off a school bus at 3:45 p.m., an elderly man approached him and offered candy, while an elderly woman waited behind the wheel of a red or maroon sport utility vehicle.

The boy ran home and told his mother, who called police.

On Thursday police stopped a vehicle matching that description in the Prestbury subdivision. Police determined the couple was there to pick up their grandchild, and that there was never any intent to abduct a child.

Earlier that day the daughter of the couple had called police, saying that based on what she had read about the attempted abduction in a newspaper, she believed her parents could be the subjects in question.

She told police her father often gave candy to children at the bus stop, and that she had warned him not to do that because people would misunderstand his intent.

Sugar Grove Police said they are grateful for many calls received that aided in identifying the couple.