Mom says 2 men in red SUV grabbed daughter’s bookbag, tried to kidnap her in Riverdale

RIVERDALE, Ga. — Doorbell video shows an SUV carrying two men that police said tried to abduct an 8-year-old girl from her Clayton County home.

Channel 2′s Audrey Washington was in Riverdale, where she spoke to the child’s mother, Jennifer Croccket, who said she can’t believe how close she came to losing her daughter.

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Crockett broke down in tears describing what happened as her daughter was riding her bike with a friend on Tipton Court Monday night. At some point, her daughter noticed red SUV following behind the girls.

At one point, the girls heard the passenger yell at them to stop.

The girls made it to the friend’s house, where the friend went inside and Crockett’s daughter turned around to go home.

That’s when Crockett said one of the men tried to snatch her daughter.

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“He hopped out the car and he tried to reach his hand and grab her bookbag, and she kept peddling really fast,” Crockett said. “Then he started chasing her on foot.”

Thankfully, Crockett’s daughter was able to get away. The SUV then sped away.

Video doesn’t show the chase, but it does show the SUV slowly cruising by the home while the girls are inside as a man hangs out of the passenger-side window.

“Just knowing that he was lurking and watching behind them,” Crockett said. “Kids shouldn’t be stalked. She’s eight.”

Clayton County police confirmed they are investigating the incident in an e-mail and said officers canvassed the area looking for the man fitting the description Crockett’s daughter gave them.

The man is described as in his mid-30s with a low Army-style haircut and blonde hair. The SUV is described as a red, older model Hyundai Santa Fe with possible front-end damage and white paint on the passenger-side door.

Crockett said that now, she’s trying to help her daughter recover from being traumatized.

“She’s been glued to my hip literally since this incident happened,” Crockett said.

Crockett said that before the incident happened, she installed a tracking app on her daughter’s cellphone. She encourages other parents to do the same.

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