WATERLOO – Parents in Waterloo are on alert following claims in a social media post that say a man tried to grab a girl and take her.
The post has been shared widely and claims the girl was approached by a man outside the Moses Spring Arena in the parking lot.
Police say they have received concerned messages about the post but have not received any reports regarding this incident.
"Be careful with your kids. Make sure they understand the risks of being in 2019. Whether this happened or not is perhaps less important than a very timely reminder that we all need to look after your children," says Nick Manning, a parent who shared the post.
The post goes on to say the incident happened on Tuesday night during a family visit to the arena, where the girl's brother was practicing hockey.
According to the post, the man sat beside the family in the arena for the entire practice and followed them to their car where the incident allegedly took place. It says the girl's mother stepped in to intercept.
The City of Waterloo says they reviewed video from the closed circuit camera and that they did see a woman and her daughter leave, as well as a male at the same time.
"There was no interaction visible on the video between the parties and they went to their vehicle separately. We take the safety and security of all patrons to our facilities seriously, but we see no evidence that anything occurred," says Tony Iavarone, Waterloo's director of communications.
Waterloo Regional Police say they are involved in several human trafficking investigations, none of which include reports of abductions or attempted abductions as described in the post.
The author of the post says the incident was reported by a friend who is not identified in the post.
