Police hose down hoax rumours after alleged attempted school abduction

Police have revealed more details about the man accused of an abduction attempt in Adelaide, including a striking feature.

Police are continuing to search for a man “with purple nail polish on one thumb” involved in an attempted abduction of a year 4 girl from a Glenelg East school in South Australia.

On Thursday, SAPOL Assistant Superintendent Scott Duval dismissed comments questioning the validity of the alleged incident at Glenelg Primary School.

The victim has described the alleged attacker as being about 180cm tall, bald and wearing a knee-length light blue shirt, black pants, a black face mask and carrying a beanie.

Police also revealed on Thursday that the girl told them he was wearing purple nail polish on one thumb, had a distinctive black ring with bright dots and two earrings in one ear.

Assistant Commissioner Scott Duval said police hadn’t found any witnesses. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Brenton Edwards

Superintendent Duval said the attempted abduction was alleged to have occurred upstairs, on the first floor of the main building, but there were no witnesses nearby.

The girl was able to pull away when the man allegedly grabbed her and pulled her onto the middle landing. He then ran down the stairs and out of sight.

He was not witnessed leaving the scene by anyone on the grounds.

SAPOL has deployed “significant resources,” including door knocking in the area and checking surrounding CCTV footage, but despite the ongoing extensive investigations, they have not been able to identify any witnesses to the incident.

Duval said police had no further information to go on aside from the girl’s information.
“There have been reports of a man going into the female student toilets. I can categorically say that is incorrect,” Superintendent Duval said.

“There have been other reports that this man chased the student. Again, I can say, this is not true,” he said.

“If the inference is it may not have occurred, I cannot put any confirmation to that at all.”

Superintendent Duval said the alleged attacker had one purple nail. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Brenton Edwards

Dismissing speculation it may be a false report, SAPOL reiterated that their efforts were going towards “finding this man and holding him accountable.”

Seva, 11, who is a friend of the victim, told The Advertiser on Wednesday that the man had looked at her friend under a toilet stall door and took photos of her before she ran away screaming.

Seva said the attacker then chased her friend up a hallway.

“He came into the school building, he was looking at her, taking photos of her under the door when she was in the toilets,” she said.

“She screamed and then she ran out and the man started chasing her up the stairs.

“Everyone in my class is scared. I don’t really feel safe at the school anymore because I’m afraid it might happen to me.”

The Adelaide community has questioned security measures at Glenelg Primary School after a man allegedly attempted to abduct a year 4 student.

Other alleged witnesses had told 7 News the man entered a building at the school, walked upstairs and grabbed a female year 4 student in a hallway in front of teachers and other students.

“The guy had come up and got all the way up into the school, all the way upstairs and had dragged (the student) halfway along where my daughter’s classroom is and dragged her along and then he got scared, maybe she was screaming, and then he went away,” the witness said.

The man had fled the scene by the time police arrived.

Parents were notified of the incident by a mass text message sent out shortly after it happened, leaving many shocked.

“Complete shock, horror, scared for the children; you want it to be a safe place when they come to school,” a woman told Seven.

Other concerned parents and community members have taken to social media, questioning security measures at the school.

“Why aren’t our schools completely enclosed so that anyone entering has to go through admin?” one woman wrote on Facebook.

A police investigation is under way after the abduction attempt left students shaken. Picture: Emma Brasier

“High fences & LOCKED gates should be around ALL schools to keep the children and teachers safe,” said another.

“Surely the school has cameras,” one person asked.

Some parents have also reported being left in the dark about the incident, with community members questioning why they were not informed about the abduction attempt sooner.

“It’s really scary,” school parent Anna Farkas, 38, told the Advertiser.

“It is a massive concern that anyone from the outside can walk in and get the kids.

“They did notify us yesterday, but they didn’t say what it was. I couldn’t speak more highly of the school and the teachers and stuff, but it’s a pretty big concern.”

Parent Anna Farkas said the school was yet to provide details to the school community. Picture: Emma Brasier

School principal Shane Misso sent a letter to parents to confirm police were investigating an incident but did not disclose any details.

“Unfortunately at this point, we are not able to provide any further detail to the community. When we are informed that we can, we will communicate to the wider school community,” he said.

Police say the man, who is understood to be unknown to the school community, was “behaving suspiciously” on school grounds before leaving the area.

Anyone who may have seen a man matching the description, or has dashcam footage near the Diagonal Rd school, is being urged to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Originally published as Police hose down hoax rumours after alleged attempted school abduction