ORLANDO, FLORIDA — Casselberry police are investigating after an 11-year-old boy told them he was nearly kidnapped at his school bus stop Thursday morning.
Police increased patrols around Sterling Park Elementary School in light of the report.
Jack Schroeder, 11, told police he was walking to his bus stop on Winter Green Boulevard at about 7 a.m. when a man in what looked like a Toyota Prius nearly ran him over, got out of the car and began walking toward him.
“When I got about right here, he came speeding at me,” Jack said. “I didn’t expect him to swerve and try and hit me.”
He said things got really scary as the man began walking quickly in his direction.
“He started speed-walking to me, so I ran through these trees and I went down past those hills,” said Jack. “When something terrifying like that happens, I’m not going to stay there and let them try and grab me or anything.”
Jack ran into a nearby wooded area, and used his cellphone to call his father, police said.
“I like, ducked down and I was like, crying and calling my dad,” he said.
Jack said the man then left the area so he booked it back to his home.
“My mom said, ‘What happened, what happened?’ and I couldn’t speak because I was crying in fear,” he said.
His mother, Cheryl Schroeder, said her son could barely get the words out between tears.
“I was panicked. (I asked) ‘What happened?’ He couldn’t talk,” she said.
Jack said as soon as he stopped crying, he told his mother that a man tried to kidnap him near the bus stop.
“I can actually almost see the bus stop from my front door. It is that close,” Schroeder said. “There has been a lot of reported almost kidnappings, near abductions at bus stops. I don’t understand what’s going on.”
She said she’s seen recent reports about other attempted kidnappings but never thought one would involve her son.
“For this to happen, it’s just unbelievable. It’s unfathomable,” she said. "It's scary and terrifying as a parent.
"My son is 11 years old, he should be able to walk to the bus stop a minute before the bus arrives, which is (an) earshot from my front door, and not have to worry about somebody trying to abduct him."
Police said it’ll be tough to track down suspect since Jack didn’t get a good description of the man.
Police said it’s not uncommon for attempted kidnapping victims to not get enough information for an artist to complete a composite sketch.
Jack said he will no longer be walking to his bus stop alone.
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