Police are investigating a potential attempted abduction at the Napanee Fair this weekend.
Lennox and Addington OPP say on Friday just after 5 p.m., a man who looked to be in his 50s grabbed a girl’s arm and started to lead her away from the midway.
OPP say the man was leading her toward the agricultural buildings when the girl pulled free and ran to others nearby.
No arrests have been made yet, and police are still looking for the man involved.
Police say the man was balding with short dark hair and was wearing a black shirt with orange shorts. Investigators are looking to speak with the man, whom they called a “person of interest,” stopping short of labelling the incident a clear abduction attempt.
“Right now, we’re just calling (him) a ‘suspicious person,'” said Const. David Yome, media relations officer with the Lennox and Addington OPP.
Yome says they’re hoping that the man will come forward to police to explain his actions, or that witnesses to the incident will be able to provide more details.
Krissy Martin, the secretary treasurer for the Napanee fair board, says members are still reeling from the frightening incident.
“You never expect that kind of thing. You hear about it, but you don’t really think it’s going to happen at your event, especially (in) a small town,” Martin said.
Martin says the girl was terrified while the man had her arm, and she broke free and ran to a nearby firefighter.
“We were worried and concerned for the individual, obviously want to make sure they’re OK and everybody’s safe. But then, it’s thinking about the safety going forward,” Martin said.
The fair board says it does have a security detail at the fair that does patrols, but it will review its security policy to see if there is anything it can do to keep something like this from happening again.
Martin also said there are security cameras where the fair took place, but it’s unclear if the cameras caught the incident in question.
Police are asking anyone who was a witness to the incident to come forward with information.