Alleged attempted abduction of Fall River student may be misunderstanding, family questions protocols

An alleged attempted abduction at a Fall River middle school appears to have possibly been a misunderstanding.

A letter was submitted to the Fall River City Council and read by City Council Vice-President Pam Laliberte at Tuesday’s meeting concerning a reported attempted abduction at Matthew Kuss Middle School.

The incident, which took place on November 29, was stated in the letter as follows:

After basketball tryouts at 4:00 p.m., someone in a vehicle that was unknown to the child told the student to get in the vehicle and then threatened the child with a knife. While the knife wasn’t shown, the incident caused the student to go back to the school, bang on the doors, and get another student in addition to calling the mother.

According to Captain Barden Castro, Uniform Division Officers conducted a preliminary investigation, and the case was assigned for follow up to the Major Crimes Division. During the course of the investigation, several interviews were conducted, and surveillance video was viewed. Castro stated that at this time, the incident does not appear to have occurred as reported and may be a misunderstanding.

The biggest concern for the family of the student is that the Kuss community and other schools were not made aware of the incident. They also feel the incident may be getting swept under the rug.

Fall River Reporter contacted Kuss Principal Melissa Rouette for a comment or any update in procedures. Rouette referred us to the Fall River Public Schools Superintendent’s Office. Reporter contacted Interim Superintendent Maria Pontes and have yet to receive a response.