Police Investigating Treesdale Mother's Report Men Tried to Lure Son Into Truck

Two men in a black pickup tried to coax an 11-year-old boy into their truck at about 4 p.m. Friday in the Adams Township part of Treesdale, according to the boy's mother.

The mother, whose name Patch is not releasing to protect the identity of the boy, sent out an email to friends and neighbors that went viral over the weekend.

Adams Township Police Chief Bill Westerman said his officers responded to the call on Old Orchard Drive within three to four minutes and neighboring police departments --including Cranberry Township officers -- also were notified immediately to be on the lookout for the truck.

The area is just north of the Pine Township border.

No one reported seeing the truck, Westerman said. His department continues to investigate the incident. 

Westerman encouraged anyone who sees anything suspicious to call 911 or their local police department. After the chief contacted Mars School District, the school on Monday distributed information to parents about the incident.

The boy described the truck as being newer, not beat up like a work truck, his mother said. He also said the truck had silver or gray bars from the cab to the bed of the truck, she said.

After looking through truck photos online with his father, the boy said the silver-bar portion of the truck looked similar to pictures of a Chevrolet Avalanche, she said.

In an interview Sunday afternoon, the mother said her son left the house at 4 p.m. to walk the family's small dog when a black truck pulled up beside the boy by crossing the center line on Old Orchard Road onto the wrong side of the road.

The driver said, "Hey, man, how's it going? We want you to come take a ride with us," according to the mother's recounting of the incident.

When her son turned and walked in the opposite direction, the man put the truck into reverse and "got aggressive yelling" for the boy to get into the truck, his mother said.

The boy then ran to a friend's house nearby and "they floored it" out of the neighborhood, she said. 

The mother said the incident happened in an open area, about 30 to 40 yards past houses, just beyond the "Watch For Children" sign.

The boy told police the heavy-set driver was bald with a big, sagging face and no glasses. He described the driver as older than his father, but not as old as his grandfather, and said the man wore a tan jacket made of something similar to leather.

He said he never saw the face of the passenger, but saw his hands as he passed something black to the driver, the boy's mother said.

"He felt like they were going to put something over his head," she said.

Once he got into the friend's home, the boy called home and his mother rushed to the friend's house.

"He was terrified," she said.

From the time the boy left the house to the time of the 911 call, only 8 to 10 minutes has passed she said. Police arrived within minutes, and she received calls from two other departments asking for more information so they knew what they were looking for, she said.

"As a mom, you want to think it's not out there," she said, as she expressed her surprise that someone would try to lure a 5-foot-2, 120-pound boy who is big enough to fight back.

"I also find it bizarre that it was two men," she continued, adding it was hard to fathom that two people would be on the same page with something as terrible as abducting a child.

"It's bursting that bubble of a false sense of security," the mother said. "It can happen anywhere."

She encourages parents to talk to their children about "stranger danger."

"I think it's a great opportunity to review safety with your kids," she said. "I've had quite a few moms say, 'We've been meaning to talk to the kids, but I didn't want to scare them.' "

From the time her son could hold a conversation, she and her husband have talked to him about stranger danger, the mother said.

When children are very young, she said, parents can turn the lesson into a "what if" game to ask children "what" they would do "if" an adult in a car approached them for directions or to ask if they wanted to see a puppy in the car. 

"God protects us and protected us this time," said the mother, who describes the family as "a family of faith."

"The ones who need prayer are those two men. Their hearts are not in the right place," she said. "Their hearts are very broken."

To contact Adams Township Police Department, please call 724-625-2040. Pine, Richland and Marshall townships, along with Bradford Woods, are served by 724-625-3156. Call Cranberry Police at 724-776-5180.