A Paris mother is warning parents after she says her daughter was the target of a possible abduction attempt at a gas station on Lamar Avenue.
On Wednesday night, Kaci Ratliff shared her encounter on Facebook to warn other parents, which has since been shared nearly 500 times.
“This is a thankful post but also an awareness post to make you more aware of what’s going on around you,” she said. “This evening after church I needed to get gas and told Justin (my husband) I was stopping and that he may beat me home. Thankfully he stopped by anyway to help pump it and right as he pulled up and walked to my driver’s side door to talk, a man walked slowly really close to my car.”
Ratliff said her husband looked up confused by what the man was doing which at that time the man opened the door on the back passenger side to where their daughter was.
“Justin hollers out, ‘hey’ and in a panic, the man quickly shut the door and walked off quickly. He was gone before we realized where he even went to.”
The couple notified the Paris Police Department and searched the area but couldn’t find the man.
They described the suspect as a white male, short, bald head, wearing a blue tank top and “covered in tattoos.”
“I really just want to warn other parents to please be safe and always be aware of your surroundings. Hugging our babies a little tighter. You just never know what could have happened and I thank God for the hedge of protection over my family.”
