Police are warning people in Carberry not to take vigilante action against a man who was rumoured to have grabbed an 11-year-old girl from behind.

The girl complained to police about the incident on June 5, but came forward June 7 to say that she had lied, and it hadn’t happened.

But that was enough time for people in the small, southwestern Manitoba community to decide whom the alleged groper might have been.

“We became aware of some social media traffic,” said RCMP spokesperson Sgt. Line Karpish. “You know, people around the community — it’s a small town, right, so our members are very attuned to what goes on. Folks had established who it was and were starting to make comments that were to some degree concerning. We decided that we’re gonna let them know that first of all, it’s unfounded, and secondly we won’t be tolerating vigilante action against anyone.”

RCMP had put out a release June 5 asking for information on the reported incident. The girl had told police that just before 8 a.m., she had been training outdoors for a race when she was grabbed from behind by an unknown male, near Carberry’s Main Street.

But she later denied any of it happened.

No charges are going to be laid in the incident, Karpish said.

“We can’t legally charge her, anyway. She’s 11. Someone 12 years of age and older could face, potentially, public mischief charges. When you make a repair to a police that you have been ... you know ... that effects have been made against you, that’s serious. The truth needs to be told,” she said.

Karpish said the RCMP are thankful she set the record straight.

“But meanwhile, someone was being targeted in the community. And that’s not right,” she said.

She warned members of the public not to react emotionally to police reports — noting that the incident was only released because they were seeking an unknown male suspect, and there was a public safety concern.

“Unfortunately you know how some people took it, they made some assumptions, misguided assumptions,” Karpish said. “There is no one going around grabbing kids in Carberry. At least, not under these circumstances.”

The story spread quickly in the town of 1,699.

Lynn Jensen, owner of the Carberry Motor Inn, said she — like everyone — had heard about it.

“It’s a small town, how can you not?” she said.

“I think a lot of it’s social media,” she said, adding that people in the tight-knit community also interact quite a bit with each other online, not just in public places like the one she runs.

Jensen declined to comment on whether vigilante justice was a legitimate concern.

“Well I certainly hope that they don’t,” she said. “If the allegations have been proven to be false, I guess they shouldn’t have any reason to.”