Police investigate possible kidnapping attempt in West Berkeley

Berkeley police are investigating a possible kidnapping attempt in West Berkeley Thursday morning. 

A man and a woman in a large white van tried to take a 10-year-old boy as he walked with his mother along Addison Street near Ninth Street, the boy’s mother told police. 

The mother told police that the woman tried to grab the boy but they were able to run away and escape. The mother called police around 7:25 a.m., about a half hour after the encounter.

Police searched the area for a van matching the description but did not find one. Investigators collected evidence and “continue to search for information to understand what occurred,” according to police spokesperson Officer Byron White. 

White said the boy’s mother did not know the man and woman in the van but that police do not think the incident poses “an ongoing threat” to the public’s safety “based on the information we have at the moment.”

Anyone with information about this case is asked to contact the Berkeley Police Department at 510-981-5742.