Gardaí in Dublin are investigating after a child was allegedly taken by the hand and led away by a woman at the Kite and Balloon Festival in Sandycove.
Dad Graham O’Doherty said his parents had taken his three-year-old daughter to watch the family event while he and his wife were away celebrating their anniversary,
As the child’s grandfather paused to fix a kite, he witnessed a strange woman take the little girl’s hand and lead her away from the crowds towards a desolate area of the car park. There she was joined by a man and the pair, thought to be in their twenties, walked with the child towards a car that was parked near the exit of the car park.
Mr O’Doherty told the Irish Independent that his father ran over to the couple, who appeared surprised to see him:
“The woman said “oh is this your child?” They were shocked that they were approached because they were walking away from all activity.”
The three-year-old later told her father that the lady offered her a “snowball sweet that tasted like strawberries” and offered her a hot air balloon ride.
“You’d like to tell yourself it was innocent but it all adds up to something sinister.” Mr O’Doherty continued. “My daughter, while she’s only three, she wouldn’t embellish the story because she didn’t know anything was wrong.
“It took a while for me and my wife to process it. We were dumbfounded. It’s a cliché but I was sick to my stomach.
“It’s something you’d never expect to happen so near your home. It’s something that might happen on holidays.”
Both the child’s parents and grandparents have made statements to the Gardaí in Dun Laoghaire who are investigating the incident.
A friend of the couple also issued a warning for parents to be extra vigilant on Facebook. The post has been shared almost 5,000 times.
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