Stranger takes two-year-old child from village garden – prompting huge police search

Police are investigating an incident in which a child was picked up by a stranger in Eggborough.

At about 12.30pm yesterday (Tuesday), police were called with a report that an adult, believed to be female, had picked up a two-year-old child from the front garden of a house in the village, and walked off with him.

The child’s mother heard what was happening and ran into the road to challenge the person, who dropped the boy and ran off along Selby Road.

The child was not hurt during the incident.

North Yorkshire Police say officers responded immediately, and large numbers of police were deployed to search Eggborough and the surrounding area, supported by the NPAS police helicopter.

However, the suspect was not located.

The suspect is described as white, of skinny build, with long dark hair tied back in a bun.

They were wearing a blue baseball cap, white shirt with blue sleeves, jogging bottoms and white trainers.

Extensive enquiries are ongoing to identify and locate them.

A spokesperson for North Yorkshire Police said: “This is clearly a concerning incident. Although incidents like this are rare, please be vigilant, and contact us if you have any information that could assist our investigation.”

Anyone with information that could assist the investigation is asked to contact North Yorkshire Police on 101, quoting reference 12210197086.