Ames Police Respond After Abduction Discussion Circulates on Facebook

A report of children being approached by a driver of a van in Ames, which was circulated on Facebook on Monday, is true but Ames police said that there's no evidence that it was an abduction attempt.

A post that appeared on Ames People Facebook pages Monday stated that two Ames boys were approached by people inside a van who asked them to look at a dog they had with them.

“They have not found the van or the sicko's that tried to get the boys in their van,” the post reads.

Ames Police CMDR. Jim Robinson said the children were mailing a letter at the store when a woman driving a maroon van asked them if a black and white dog she had found belonged to them.

Robinson said there was no attempt to lure the children inside the van. The children told their mother about the driver and she called police about 11:30 a.m. Monday as a precaution, Robinson said.

Robinson said police haven't found any evidence to indicate that the woman was doing anything other than trying to determine who owned the dog. Police were not able to locate the driver of the van. The mother didn't see it happen, Robinson said.