Vancouverites are actually good people: alleged attempted toddler abduction was misunderstanding

Vancouver Police have identified the woman and man believed to have been responsible for the alleged attempted to abduction of a toddler while she was with her family at Chinese New Year’s festivities on February 1st.

It was around 2:00 p.m. that Saturday and the family was taking part in the celebrations at International Village Mall, also known as Tinseltown. The little girl became separated from her family, who then spotted a woman trying to lead the child away.

Police collected surveillance video, identified and interviewed the man and woman, and now believe that they were just trying to help the little girl. The couple believed she was lost and were taking her to mall security. Unfortunately, when the family went to retrieve the child from the two concerned citizens, a language barrier prevented the group from sharing information.

“These types of situations are tough,” says Sergeant Randy Fincham. “We always try to err on the side of caution and alert the public as soon as possible. Thankfully, in this case, it appears there was no attempted abduction.”

Source: Vancouver Police Department | Image: Donovan Mahoney