Police Seek Man Who Attempted to Abduct Boy, 5

The is looking for a man who reportedly tried to lure a 5-year-old boy away from a sports complex in Carsins Run Saturday afternoon.

The man was described as being between the ages of 45 and 50, standing approximately 5-foot-7 inches to 5-foot-9 inches tall and weighing between 185 and 200 pounds. He had short, dark hair and “a weathered face with a salt and pepper scruffy beard,” according to police. He was wearing a green baseball cap, gray hooded sweatshirt, khaki shorts and sneakers, police said.

A mother reported that she witnessed her 5-year-old son walking with the unidentified male at the Carsins Run sports field, located at 500 Carsins Run Road on Saturday afternoon. As the mother called out for her son, the man disappeared into the nearby cornfield.

The boy told his mother the man asked him to help him find something he had lost.

The incident took place around 4 p.m. on Sept. 17.

Anyone with information should call the Child Advocacy Center of Harford County at 410 638-3294. If anyone has spotted the man described above at a youth facility, police urge them to call 911.

The Harford County Sheriff’s Office provided the following safety tips to pass along to children, courtesy of the National Crime Prevention Council:

• Memorize your home phone number and address, and your parents' work and cell phone numbers, or write these numbers on a card and carry it with you.
• If a stranger asks you to go somewhere, offers you a gift or just wants to talk, say you need to ask your parents first. Then go and tell your parents or a trusted adult.
• Be aware of dangerous situations. If a stranger asks you for help or to keep a "secret," it could be a dangerous situation. Say no and tell a trusted adult.
• Remember the rules about strangers: Don’t talk to them, don’t go anywhere with them and don’t take anything from them.
• Never get into a car with a stranger or even a family friend if you sense there is a problem, a parent hasn't told you about a scheduled pick-up or you just feel funny about it.
• If you see something that doesn't seem right, like a car you don't recognize driving around your block again and again, tell an adult right away. This way you can help keep your neighborhood safe.
• Stick with friends. It's always safer to play in a group.
• Work out a safe route to school with your parents. Stay away from parks, vacant lots, fields and other places where there aren't many people around.
• Whenever you can, walk to and from school with a friend, brother, sister or neighbor. Don't go by yourself.
• If you are out with your parents, have a plan if you get separated from them. Know where to meet them and how to get in touch with them if you can't find them.

For more information, the Harford County Sheriff's Office suggests these sites:

• Amber Watch Foundation
• Association of Missing and Exploited Children's Organization
• Child Find of America Inc., (Call 800-I-AM-LOST)
• Enough is Enough
• National Center for Missing & Exploited Children