A photo posted on social media of a man duct-taping his autistic grandson sparked a false Amber Alert in Washington state on Monday.
The photo shows a man standing over the 10-year-old boy with duct tape in his hand in Tacoma. The child is seen with tape along his wrists, ankles and mouth.
According to Puyallup police, the man in the photo was actually the boy’s grandfather and not an abductor, prompting authorities to cancel the Amber Alert.
A photo posted on social media of a man duct-taping his grandson sparked a false Amber Alert in Washington state on Monday. The photo shows a man standing over the 10-year-old boy with duct tape in his hand in Tacoma
The grandfather was attempting to prevent his grandson from running into traffic outside DeLong Elementary School, where a group of kids playing near the school saw the man duct tape the boy and put him in a car (pictured)
‘He was a special needs child who was being restrained by his Grandfather,’ Puyallup police tweeted.
‘This was a Tacoma Police incident. Thanks for helping spread the word. Better to be safe than sorry,’ police added.
The grandfather was attempting to prevent his grandson from running into traffic outside DeLong Elementary School, according to Q13 Fox.
Officials said the boy does not attend Delong Elementary but was dropped off by a bus from the Tacoma school he does attend. His grandfather was there to pick him up.
A police spokeswoman told The News Tribune that the grandfather was ‘having trouble controlling an autistic child so he opted to duct tape him’, adding that duct-taping a child in any situation is ‘not appropriate’.
A group of kids playing near the school saw the man duct tape the boy and put him in a car.
The kids took the photos and called police. Authorities said the photo was reportedly posted by a mother on Instagram
The kids took the photos and called police. Authorities said the photo was reportedly posted by a mother on Instagram.
The image was so disturbing that it was sent to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, according to WEWS.
The photo was then traced back to Cleveland where the Ohio Internet Crimes Against Children were informed of it.
ICAC Commander Dave Frattare told the station that investigators believe ‘someone at Instagram saw the picture or one of the unidentified woman’s 23,000 followers saw the image and reported it to Instagram directly’.
Police were tipped off about the photo and a short time later officers headed to the the apartment of the 21-year-old mother and young son. The little boy was fine.
The boy’s mother was arrested and appeared in Cleveland Municipal Court but the case was dismissed at the request of the county prosecutor’s office.
An investigation will take place into the treatment of the boy, authorities said.