Man Released Following Accusations Of Attempted Kidnapping

The man accused of attempting to kidnap a 9-year-old boy in Palm Desert Wednesday has been released following further investigation.

The original report forced the lockdown of Palm Desert Charter Middle School.

The man has been released because authorities haven’t been able to establish that the kidnapping ever actually happened, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.

Three students described horror in the parking lot of Magnesia Fall City Park — two young girls and a boy.

The Palm Desert police responded just before 3 p.m. and gathered the details of what happened.

Soon after, the search for the man was underway.

A California Highway Patrol helicopter circled above the scene of the alleged crime.

The three kids told police that a man approached them after Lincoln Elementary and Palm Desert Charter Middle School let out.

Police were told the man walked up to the 9-year-old boy, grabbed his arm and said, “I won’t hurt you.”

The boy cut loose and ran away.

Palm Desert Charter students watched the incident play out.

“They went over and saw and came back to the school and told the principal,” said Summer Lynch, a student at Palm Desert Charter Middle School. “The principal announced on the announcer, ‘Everybody lock their doors.'”

Security forced students back on campus and locked the exterior gates even though school was already out.

Teachers remained calm.

“It happened a lot more often than you would like it to,” said Alison Reynolds, a teacher at Palm Desert Charter Middle School. “It’s kind of normal for me, because I’m not used to teaching in this area.”

“All the librarians just said, ‘Everybody be quiet. There’s a lockdown,'” said Lynch. “At first, I just had a thump in my heart, because I didn’t know what was happening. I thought it was a drill. But, then all my friends said that it was real.”

Students were only allowed to leave the campus with a legal guardian.

“I felt comforted that she was within the school limits and that she was safe,” said Irene Quiroz, Lynch’s mother.

Witnesses described the man as overweight with a beard, wearing dark gray sweatpants and a black shirt.

A deputy spotted a man fitting that description on Cook Street, and News Channel 3 cameras caught that man being detained.

Authorities brought the alleged victim and two witnesses to Cook Street in patrol units.

All three positively identified him as the man for whom they were searching.

He was handcuffed and taken away.

Earlier on Wednesday, News Channel 3 identifed the man arrested.

But following his release, we are not reporting his identity.

The man detained was never booked.

The investigation is still ongoing.