A young girl was reported snatched from a Colchester street, prompting a massive police search.
Police at Collingwood Road, Stanway, where an abduction was reported
The alarm was raised by two young girls, who said they had seen the child being grabbed by a man, taped up and carried away.
Police flooded Collingwood Road, Stanway, with officers and the police helicopter was scrambled.
Detectives later started door-to-door inquiries and scenes-of-crime officers scoured the scene, the King George V playing field, for clues about the abduction.
It was reported at about 3.30pm yesterday but no full name had been given for the child and no parents had come forward to report her missing by 9pm.
Police today asked anyone with information, or anyone who could give an innocent explanation for what the girls saw, to come forward.
As police searched the area and the helicopter circled overhead yesterday, rumours spread among worried residents.
One, Claudia Roberts, 36, said: "When I came home I heard that a little girl had been kidnapped by a man and that she had been taped up.
"I was in the shop just now and everybody is talking about it and speculating."
Published Tuesday August 10, 2004
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