Milton Police Capt. Tony Tindell says the man whose description was put out by the Press Gazette and Channel 3 News in Pensacola as an attempted abductor called the police this morning to explain what really happened.
Tuesday afternoon, two young girls playing outside a home on Birch St., located off of Stewart St near the Milton Community Center, ran inside to tell their great-aunt a man tried to get them to leave with him. Milton Police were dispatched, interviewed the girls, and searched the area, with no results. Information about the vehicle and man was obtained by the Press Gazette while police were still on scene and posted immediately on Facebook.
Turns out, the incident was a miscommunication between the man and the girls.
Tindell says the man called his office to say he did drive past the home on Birch St. where the girls were playing, but they were not in the yard, they were in the street. He told Tindell the girls would not move out of the road so he could pass. He opened his door and asked them if they wanted him to find their parents.
Tindell says the girls ran into the house and repeated what the man said to their relative, who contacted police.
The man, who remains unidentified, says he went home and thought nothing of the incident until he saw news reports describing him and his vehicle – as an attempted abductor. He then called Milton Police to explain his side.
Tindell says his department was thankful for the news reports because they probably never would have discovered the truth unless the man had become aware police were looking for him.
Nearly 8,000 people saw the report through the Press Gazette Facebook page in less than 12 hours.
The report of the incident was posted on the Press Gazette Facebook page within one minute of being reported to police.
No further investigation is being conducted.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Man suspected of attempted abduction contacts Milton Police following media reports