FBI says reported abduction attempt didn’t happen

The San Antonio FBI investigated the abduction attempt described in this blog and said it didn't happen. The San Antonio FBI investigated the abduction attempt described in this blog and said it didn't happen. Photo: Momblog Photo: Momblog Image 1 of / 101 Caption Close FBI says reported abduction attempt didn’t happen 1 / 101 Back to Gallery

A blog post describing a possible abduction attempt at an area H-E-B store was so widely shared on social media that it drew an FBI investigation, which concluded it had not happened, an agency official said Thursday.

“We pro-actively went to find out if there was anything to this report because we had gotten so many calls,” agency spokeswoman Michelle Lee said. “But we thought it important to tell the public that there was no specific event that happened at that H-E-B … and there was no reason to think there was a specific threat to children."

Katy Corrigan, a marketing manager at a local law firm, posted the account that recalled “a young, dirty couple” appearing “from out of nowhere” touching her daughter’s head and “separating her from me and my other two kids. They were ushering her into the parking lot. …The manager tried to go find them, but they were gone.”

She appeared on a TV news report but declined an interview request Thursday afternoon, saying, “Our message and purpose behind this post is getting skewed by the media.”

A San Antonio Police Department spokesman earlier Thursday said he could find no report of an abduction attempt. The Alamo Heights Police Department released a statement saying the H-E-B in question was not in Alamo Heights. An H-E-B spokeswoman declined comment.

The FBI and San Antonio police investigated the allegation Thursday and “found no evidence that the attempted abduction took place,” the FBI said in a statement sent to news media late Thursday afternoon.

Lee said the agency credited SAPD with helping in the investigation because it has an officer on an FBI task force that targets crimes against children.

Staff writer Guillermo Contreras contributed to this report.

bselcraig@express-news.net