Concerns in Williamson County over recent attempted abductions

WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — In the past few weeks, there have been several reported instances of attempted abductions in several cities in Williamson County.

On April 2, there was an attempted kidnapping that occurred in Leander. On April 11, the Round Rock Police Department announced they were searching for two people after an attempted child abduction. Also on April 11, Hutto Police announced they were investigating a report of another attempted child abduction.

"I think the word I would use is 'concerned' and 'aware'," said Joseph Branson, the commander at the Taylor Police Department.

The Taylor Police Department also posted information regarding the attempted abductions in their neighboring cities. There have been no reported instances that have happened in Taylor recently.

"That doesn't mean it can't happen here," Branson said. "We're not trying to scare people, but we are trying to raise awareness of what's happening."

Mike Mohler, lieutenant of the Leander Police Department, investigated the attempted kidnapping that happened in Leander. Mohler said that the incident is isolated and has no connection to the other incidents.

"Every case, although it may seem similar, once you start examining the facts, [they] quickly become different from all the others," Mohler said.

Mohler and Branson both emphasize how communication is important between neighboring police departments.

"Communication between law enforcement partners is very helpful in that aspect," Mohler said. "Suspects or people from other areas don't stay in that area-they do travel."

"We meet regularly with other departments, the sheriff's department, other municipalities, police departments," Branson said. "We let them know what's going on in Taylor, and they let us know what's going on in their cities."

According to a data sample collected by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), between 2016 to 2020, 65% of children knew their abductor in some capacity. Brianna Proulx analyzes and collects data for NCMEC, and she says a majority of children who are targeted are often between the ages of 10 to 14.

"We also see that a lot of children, or a higher percentage of children, are targeted when they're going to or from school or school-related activity in that two to seven PM time frame," Proulx said.

Proulx emphasizes that teaching children what to do in such scenarios is essential for them to avoid being abducted.

"50% of the children in our incidents just walked or ran away from the suspect and were able to get away safely," Proulx said. "About 28% who just have some type of reaction. They yell, they kick, they scream, they pull away, they just attract attention to themselves."