PAULDING COUNTY, Ga. — Parents are on high alert as deputies search for a man who tried to abduct a young girl in the New Hope community in Paulding County.
Deputies said the man had approached the girl while she was playing outside in the middle of the day Wednesday.
Authorities said the girl did the right thing by screaming and running away.
They said when they arrived at the scene along Ivy Springs Drive, the 10-year-old girl told them the man had approached her and touched her on the shoulder.
She told deputies the man appeared to have had a black rag in his hand.
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The girl ran away the man, who is described as a white man with shaggy red hair and a beard, ran into the woods.
Neighbors in the area said they are shocked.
"The kids are always playing in the afternoon and it's wonderful, but it's really scary to hear about something like that because I watch out for my neighbors," Sarah Fries said.
Police are applauding the girl for her quick-thinking.
"We want to applaud this girl for doing exactly what she should've done, which is getting away, going home or going to an adult or a friend's house," Sgt. Ashley Henson said.
Cox Media Group
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