Two Attempted Child Abductions

Authorities say there have been two attempted child abductions in the south New Jersey area since last weekend.

The first happened in Evesham Township, in Burlington County. The second took place in Mt. Ephraim, in Camden County.

Solonydia Yambo was shocked when she got a call from authorities that someone had unsuccessfully tried to abduct her 11-year-old daughter Monday morning as she was walking to school in Mt. Ephraim, N.J.

"She was scared when she got home. She didn't want to come outside and play, she didn't want to sleep in her room by herself at night," Yambo said.

The attempted abduction took place at an intersection next to a church, a police station and a short distance from the girl's school. Police said the suspect pulled his car alongside the girl and opened the car's passenger-side door. He told the girl to "get in the car." She refused and escaped.

Police were able to create a composite sketch (pictured) of the suspect from a description provided by Yambo's daughter.

The girl said the man who allegedly tried to abduct her is 30 to 35 years old, has a medium build and a tattoo of a tear next to his right eye. She said the car he drove was tan and either a Cadillac or a Mercury.

The first incident happened Sunday morning when a man got out of his car and approached a 12-year-old boy in the Marlton Lakes section of Evesham Township.

The man got out of the car, leaving the driver's-side door open and the car's engine running, police said. He approached the boy in an "aggressive manner," and the boy ran away.

The latest luring is the twelfth in Camden County since last October. If composite sketches from those cases are accurate, police said there is more than one abductor.

Capt. Brian Beppel, of Mt. Ephraim police said there are three things children should do if approached by a stranger: Don't be polite, make noise to attract attention and try to get away from your abductor as soon as you can.

"The persons objective that's taking you is to get you to a secluded area where there is no one else around. Your best chance to is to draw attention to yourself at the initial incident," Beppel said.

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