No evidence of abduction found at School 10 in Paterson, police say

Show Caption Hide Caption Police presence outside School 10 in Paterson NJ Over a dozen Paterson police cars were stationed outside Paterson School 10 on Oct. 19, 2018.

PATERSON — Parents were arriving at School 10 Friday hoping to pick up their children after there was a report of a possible child abduction, but police were unable to find evidence of an abduction.

Children reported the possible abduction after they saw one of their peers get into a van, said a local law enforcement source.

Police director Jerry Speziale said the Passaic County Prosecutor's Office deployed their child abduction team, known as CART, to investigate and found no indication that anyone was abducted.

While the investigation was ongoing, a number of police cars could been seen outside the Paterson school and an announcement over the loudspeaker asked teachers to immediately send down a list of absent students to the school office.

Story continues below gallery

Earlier in the morning, a young boy could be seen leading five police officers past the school property line and pointed to an area on Keen Street and police appeared to be canvassing the area. School 10 is located on Mercer Avenue, which intersects with Keen Street.

A number of parents flocked to the school after they received a recorded phone message informing them of what happened.

Lourdes Pagan, who picked up her 9-year-old daughter Ana Rodriguez, said she called the school and Ana's teacher to find out more information but didn't get an answer. She tried to track Ana's cellphone but the students are not allowed to have them on during the day.

Pagan said it was difficult to sign Ana out and that there was a large amount of parents inside the school to pull their children out. But the phone call from the school did little to ease her fear.

"Is it my child?" was her first thought she said.

LURING INCIDENT: Police: Alleged luring incident in Clifton appears to be a misunderstanding

NJ NEWS: Liquor licenses in NJ cost $350K and it's crippling the state's dining scene

WANAQUE: Police seek info on man who asked girl to come see his dog