We would like to think that our children are safe within the confines of their own homes and gardens, which is why this latest report about an attempted abduction in Co. Wexford has really unsettled people around the country.
According to reports today, a grandmother successfully foiled the attempted kidnap of her five-year-old granddaughter last Tuesday, by a man who entered their front-garden.
Ann Roche has opened up about the terrifying experience this week, describing the shocking moment she found her granddaughter, Hollie, in the clutches of the would-be kidnapper.
She told the Irish Mirror that she was inside of her house when she heard Hollie screaming in the garden. Thinking that Hollie had hurt herself, she rushed outside to help her – but nothing could have prepared her for the scene she was met with.
“When I got out I could see a man holding on to her, and he would not let go,” she recalled.
Ann ordered the man to let a terrified Hollie go, and he eventually panicked and threw the child to the ground. He then fled on foot and was seen jumping over a wall at the end of the garden, in St Moling’s Terrace, in Camolin.
Ann proceeded to bring Hollie inside of the house and call the gardaí, who arrived on the scene shortly after.
The grandmother has said she will ‘never’ be able to forget the face of the man who snatched Hollie, and has shared a detailed description with gardaí. He is described as being in his forties, and overweight with black hair. He was wearing a red jumper at the time of the incident.
Gardaí confirmed this week that they are investigating the incident.
While Hollie has been plagued with nightmares since the traumatic incident, Ann knows only too well that things could have ended a lot differently.
She said: “We are very lucky nothing worse happened to her…I am just glad she was screaming – we are very thankful she is still here with us.”
