MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WBTW) – Police say four people connected to reports about attempted kidnappings near Carolina Forest will now face charges.
According to officers, an investigation into the attempted child abductions in Plantation Lakes revealed the incidents were a prank.
Police posted an update on their Facebook page clarifying that the people reportedly inside a black Yukon who tried to kidnap children were located and identified. Officers also said that all of the parties involved in the incident were juveniles.
Horry County Police Department spokesperson Krystal Dotson confirms all four teens will be charged with breach of peace and will be issued a juvenile summons.
“Our investigation has concluded and the case has been transferred to the Solicitor’s Office for prosecution,” Dotson stated Tuesday.Last week, one of the teens involved in the prank was charged with unlawful communication via electronic device after sending a threatening video to a young girl on Snapchat.
Police were called to Plantation Lakes August 7 about an attempted kidnapping, police reports say. When officers arrived at a home on Wacobee Drive, they spoke with a mother, who said four men in a black Yukon tried to abduct her 10-year-old.
Investigators spoke to four boys at the house who say the men tried to kidnap them. The police report says the victims’ ages ranged from 7 to 13 years old.
The 10-year-old told police that he and a friend were walking home from the pool when the black car stopped and the people inside told them, “Get in the car boys.” The boy says they didn’t stop, and ran home. A man wearing a pink mask got out of the car, but then got back into it before the Yukon sped off, the victim added.
A 13-year-old child also talked to police and said he was outside playing football with another person on Abingdon Drive when the car drove up to them. The boy said the windows were rolled down and he could see that the passengers were wearing bandannas and he couldn’t see their faces. The men in the car told the 13-year-old and the friend to “Come get inside,” then one of the suspects got out of the car, and then got back in, before the car left the cul-de-sac quickly.