Abduction story told by 9-year-old proves to be false, authorities say

5/24/2014

Authorities say the story of a 9-year-old boy abducted from Tennessee after authorities found him late Thursday walking along northbound I-75 in Rossford was unfounded.

A passer-by saw the boy about 9:15 p.m. near the Northwood border and called Rossford police, Chief Glenn Goss said.

The boy told police he’d been pushed out of a car and fell asleep alongside the interstate before he began walking. He didn’t know what type of car it was and couldn’t identify his captors because they wore masks.

An officer learned Friday the boy had run away from his residence in Toledo after arguing with his father and planned to head to Tennessee to see his mother, police said.

Though Wood County officials had made plans for the young boy to stay in temporary custody, the case was turned over to Lucas County Children Services, which asked that the boy be released to his father, Gregory Jackson.

The boy initially told police he was walking home from a friend’s house Tuesday when two masked men abducted him. His only apparent injuries were marks on his arms and legs from being pushed out of the car, Chief Goss said.

The boy has talked to the investigator from [Wood County] Children Services.