According to 911 dispatchers, the attempted abduction happened right around 10 a.m. at the Ashley Mobile Home Park near Wilkes-Barre.
Ashley police tell us that a man in an SUV offered a middle-school-aged boy $10 to shovel out his driveway.
The boy said yes, but police say he changed his mind when the man insisted that the boy get in a Jeep Cherokee.
The boy’s mother told Newswatch 16 that the man grabbed his arm, and the boy was able to escape by slipping out of his glove.
"He grabbed him when he went to give him his money back. He tried to pull him in the car and he pulled his hand out of the glove,” said the mother. “He's pretty shaken. He closed all of the blinds in the house and locked the door. It was pretty scary for him.”
The manager of the mobile home park said she was surprised and upset to hear about the scare on a snow day.
""I feel sorry for the kid. Because the kid is really, really upset,” said Donna Gyle. “Usually this park is safe. We keep it safe but, some people do sneak in.”
Another boy who shoveling snow nearby said he goes to school with the student who was nearly abducted, and police warned him to return home after the scare.
“I’m a little worried about it because he is my friend,” said Michael Kocher. “First my neighbor pulled me inside her house. Then, as soon as the cops left and went down there on the lower road, I said I’m going to run home so I can lock up my doors.”
Michael’s father told Newswatch 16 that he and other parents will be keeping a closer eye on their kids in the snow, following the scare.
“He won’t be going out to much on his own anymore,” said Mike Kocher. “I’ll follow him with the jeep to make sure he’s okay and what not. It’s pretty safe up here.”
Ashley police described the man that tried to abduct the boy as a black male in his twenties, with a bald head and facial hair on his chin.