SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — An alert is out on Wednesday after an attempted abduction of three young girls was reported at La Festa Italiana late last week.
Witnesses say there are two suspects: A white man, somewhere between his 40s and 60s, and a woman carrying a blue purse with white lettering on it.
The incident happened on the night of Friday, August 29.
Three young girls were enjoying the sights and sounds of La Festa Italiana.
That excitement was quickly dashed when witnesses say an older man approached them while one girl's father stopped to get money out of an ATM.
One of the girls was holding a Pane for Scranton balloon she was given earlier in the day.
According to witnesses, the man lifted his shirt to reveal a Marc Pane shirt matching her balloon and used it as an ice breaker to talk with the girls.
The suspects eventually asked the girls if they wanted something to eat and to go with them.
According to the owner of Luigi's, that's when one of his employees stepped in and moved the girls away from the unknown man and into their tent.
Maria Piccolino is the mother of one of the girls.
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"Initially, you know, I thought it was a joke. But it turned out not to be a joke. Speaking to my daughter, speaking to the detectives, and the workers at the tent. It was a pretty serious thing. Myself, my daughter's two friends' mom, and dad both went down there and thanked them, and you know, truly appreciate that people look out for one another," Piccolino told 28/22 News.
She says training kids not to talk to strangers is critical.
"Thankfully, before the people stepped in, they were smart enough to say no and push forward to get the attention of the workers at the tent. I'm hoping what we taught them to stranger danger, stay away from strangers, works well when there aren't people around. If they are, you know, at a playground alone. And you know, that never might be the case, but you know, if they are ever somewhere, where, where this happens, and there is not an adult around, that they know what to do, you know, without that supervision," Piccolino explained.
Marc Pane is running for city council. One of his volunteers gave the balloon to the girl. He says the suspects are not members of his team.
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"They told me what happened, and I was horrified. I was immediately horrified. I hate to even think, you know, if it's true what possibly could've happened. You know, thank god we have good people in this community," Pane explained.
Witnesses say police are looking for two suspects.
One being a white man between his 40s and 60s, normal build, under six feet, possibly wearing a purple shirt with cut-off sleeves.
The other suspect, a woman carrying a blue purse or bag with white lettering on it.
"In two seconds, a lot can change in your life. You know, there's not kind people in this world sometimes," Piccolino added.
Both Pane and Piccolino say Scranton police are investigating this, and their inboxes have been flooded with tips.
28/22 News reached out to Scranton police several times over the past few days, but has not yet heard back.
