Investigators said a 9-year -old girl had a frightening run-in with two men Tuesday afternoon.
Surveillance video from the neighborhood security cameras showed what the Pasco sheriff’s Office described as an attempted kidnapping.
“I think more people should have done something, there’s people all over the place. When you see a child screaming of running, you got to help,” said John Azevedo, a parent who also lives in the Little Creek neighborhood.
The Pasco Sheriff’s Office said the men were following the child through the gated community on her way home from Deer Creek Elementary.
She was scared and went to a neighbors home first, but nobody answered.
Then she ran home and said the two men found her and tried to coax her into their car.
She went inside, locked the door, and intentionally set off the alarm.
“This is a very smart little girl,” said Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco.
A blue Toyota belonging to 18-year-old Drew Bretnall was seen on surveillance video in this area. The car matches the description the child gave detectives.
Investigators said Bretnall looks a lot like the composite sketch she gave too.
“From his driver's license photo to the sketch that she provided. It’s very similar,” said Nocco.
Earlier Wednesday, the Sheriff’s Office asked Bretnall to come talk to them. Eventually, they made contact and interviewed him. They also interviewed the other person, a 16-year-old friend.
Neither was arrested and charges have not been filed. But the whole incident has parents in the area rattled.
“My son comes home from school here every day. They play in the neighborhood, And when I found out they actually got into the neighborhood, now it ratched up the tension a little more, said Azevedo.
The Sheriff’s Office is still investigating whether this was actually an attempted kidnapping or something else. But they say the two teens could still face charges.
