Man Arrested After Attempting to Lure 8-Year-Old Girl Into Woods in Brighton Township

A man was arrested in Auburn Hills after allegedly trying to lure an 8-year-old girl into a wooded area in Brighton Township, Michigan. The girl's father confronted the suspect and photographed him.

Pest Control Worker Held After Attempted Child Abduction in Brighton Township Neighbourhood

A man is in custody after Michigan State Police received a report of an attempted child abduction in Brighton Township, wxyz.com reports.

The incident occurred Wednesday around 7 p.m. on Rosemary Lane in the Alger Pine subdivision near Old US-23. According to state police, the suspect approached an 8-year-old girl who was riding her bike and asked her to follow him into the woods for "a surprise."

The girl's father had been alerted by his daughter and went out to find the suspect. He confronted the man and, when the suspect failed to respond, photographed him before he fled.

State police 1st Lt. Rene Gonzalez described it as an extremely close call. "I think she just made the right call by finding her mom and telling her what's going on," Gonzalez said. "The girl was able to give a real good description of the suspect. He confronted the guy, asked him what he was doing. The guy didn't say anything, and that is when he had snapped a picture of the subject."

The suspect was wearing an identification badge from a pest control company and escaped on a Segway-type vehicle. That detail led neighbour Zachary Coykendall to contact investigators — he believed the man had visited his home earlier that day to pitch pest control services. Coykendall shared the salesman's details with police and then contacted the company directly.

"I immediately called and canceled our service through the company that I think that it could be because I can't have that risk anywhere near our house — I said with having a 3-year-old daughter," Coykendall said.

Detectives canvassed the neighbourhood and quickly identified the suspect. He was arrested Thursday at a hotel in Auburn Hills. Investigators were still executing search warrants on the hotel room and the suspect's vehicle at the time of the report.

"They're actually obtaining search warrants to search the hotel room and the suspect's vehicle for anything else, see if there's any past crimes, any evidence of the crime that occurred yesterday. It's not a closed case since he's in custody," Gonzalez said.

Residents expressed shock at the brazen attempt. "Horrible. Absolutely horrible. Just so sad. Kids should be able to play outside, run around and not have to worry about these things," neighbour Nicole Micunek said.

Police said the suspect could be arraigned as early as Friday. Anyone with information is asked to contact the MSP Brighton Post at 810-227-1051.

Source: Google News JM — Kingston