The whereabouts of a young girl who was last seen carried into the woods by a man in Abbotsford, B.C., is baffling police as the search continues.
On the evening of Sept. 30, the Abbotsford Police Department received a 911 call from “a very credible” witness saying a young girl between the age of six and 10 years old was seen lying motionless on the side of the road
The 911-caller observed a Caucasian man in his 40s with curly brown hair wearing a dark jean jacket and jeans, pick up the girl, dressed in a pink jacket, and carry her west toward a wooded area.
Since the investigation began, more than 50 police officers, 15 to 20 search and rescue personnel , three canine units and a police helicopter have been deployed in the search, said Abbotsford Police Department spokesperson, Const. Ian MacDonald.
On Thursday, police obtained security-video footage from a nearby industrial building, showing two vehicles driving in opposite directions on Enterprise Avenue -- the same street where the man and the girl were last seen together.
Police issued a public appeal for those two drivers to come forward Friday, and one has since been interviewed by police as part of the investigation. MacDonald says he’s hoping the driver of the other car – a red pickup truck – will also still come forward for questioning.
“Both of these drivers are not suspects in the least, but we hope they’re good witnesses since they were on the same street as the girl and man just minutes before the 911 caller made the call. It would be nice to get the perspective of both drivers,” MacDonald said.
MacDonald said police remain concerned with why the girl was lying on the ground. “We can’t and we won’t let up on this until we get some more definitive answers.”
MacDonald also cautioned that while the case “strange,” police recognize “it doesn’t have to have a sinister outcome.”
Abbotsford Police have no missing persons report on record, and all girls enrolled in the school district are accounted for.
“We have no reason to believe she’s missing,” said MacDonald. “It’s suspicious and we’re missing answers as to what’s happened.”
MacDonald said one possibility is that this young girl and her guardian are completely oblivious to the media attention. “Conversely, the young girl could have been lying on the ground because she was injured, but we’re not taking anything for granted,” he said.
MacDonald said the other witnesses who saw the pair on Sept. 30, before the 911 call was made, say the girl was happy and there was not any discord or distress; it seemed as though they might be related and they had a rapport.
“Until we can verify the well-being of this young girl, we can’t be satisfied with leaving these questions unanswered,” MacDonald said.
Anyone with information is asked to call Abbotsford Police Department at 604-859-5225 or text police at 222972 (abbypd).
Abbotsford is a city of 140,000 located 60 kilometres east of Vancouver.
