Schoolgirl beats kidnap

THE attempted abduction of a primary school girl in Eumemmerring last Thursday has sparked renewed calls for the Police in Schools program to be retained in its current form.
Constable Greg Pajor said an 11yearold girl was walking through Eumemmerring Park on her standard route to Eumemmerring Primary School when a man approached her from behind.
He put his arm around the girl and tried to coerce her to a waiting vehicle on Butler Street, telling her he had something to show her.
He lured her to the car and opened the door, but she managed to escape and ran off towards Olive Road before continuing to the safety of her school.
“Once she was at school she spoke to friends and they then decided to talk to her teacher about it,” Const Pajor said.
“They did and then the school’s principal rang us straight away.”
Officers from Endeavour Hills and Narre Warren police stations and the Dandenong Criminal Investigations Unit were on the scene by 9.25am, sealing off a crime scene area, taking photographs and looking for evidence. A police helicopter also patrolled the area throughout Thursday and Friday looking for clues and providing added protection for those walking to school.
Const Pajor said the girl’s actions were highly commendable.
He recommended where possible that all children walking to school should stay in groups and when in trouble, cry out for help to attract attention.
“What she did was very good in refusing to accompany him into the car,” he said.
“She insisted on being let free. It’s a good message to not trust strangers like that and to call out for help if you need it.”
Eumemmerring Primary School principal Wayne Macdonald said the alarming incident was acted on swiftly by the police and the school.
“We were guided by the department (of education) and got the police involved straight away and then contacted the girl’s parents straight away,” he said.
Mr Macdonald said the school provided immediate counselling to the girl and took action to reinforce the messages of stranger danger to all of its students and their families last week. He also praised the outgoing Police in Schools program, saying that the stranger danger messages that are reinforced through the program are yet another example of why the program should be retained in its current form.
“The Police in Schools program, these messages are something that’s reinforced through that and it’s one of the reasons why she’s okay,” he said.
“She put in place what she has heard and what she has been taught through that program.
“It’s your worst nightmare, but thankfully she’s okay.”
The girl gave police a detailed description of the events.
The man who approached her is said to be a Caucasian, aged about 50, 165cm with a noticeable pot belly, greyish hair and a black beard with grey chin hair.
He was wearing dark shorts and a dark singlet with old white runners when he approached the girl and he was puffed out after having run up to her. The car was a silver fourdoor sedan.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Narre Warren CIU on 9705 3111 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.