Masked Man Tries To Abduct Schoolgirl

BETHEL TOWNSHIP, Pa. - Police are investigating a report of an attempted abduction in Chadds Ford, Delaware County.

A female student at Garnet Valley Middle School told detectives it happened at the intersection of Trotters Lea Lane and Sulky Way in Bethel Township around 7:30 a.m. Tuesday.

The 13-year-old girl said a man armed with a knife and wearing all black attire, including a ski mask, walked up to her as she waited for a school bus. She reported the man threatened to kill her if she tried to escape.

“The guy told her to turn around and if she screamed, made any noise or tried to run that he would kill her,” recounted neighbor Justin Thomas.

Police said the encounter was interrupted by the arriving bus, but the girl didn't notify authorities until she got to school.

The bus driver told reporters she didn’t see anything unusual: “I picked up the one girl. I never saw anybody. She never said anything to me, and we went to school."

State Police were led by K9s to a property on State Line Road and could be seen searching there, although they were not saying exactly what connection that address had to the case.

Police did say there is a person of interest they want to question in the case, and they had not located him yet.

The 13-year-old's father told Fox 29 News off camera that his daughter is very shaken up after the frightening morning.