9-year-old reportedly escapes abduction attempt in East Germantown [updated]

Philadelphia Police are currently investigating a Tuesday night incident in which a 9-year-old boy said he was abducted near an East Germantown recreation center only to break out of a car’s trunk a half hour later.

A department spokeswoman told NewsWorks on Wednesday that the report came in just before 8 p.m. Tuesday.

The youth, who is still being interviewed by Special Victims Unit investigators, reportedly told police “a white man in his 50s, who put the boy in the trunk of an older model gray Ford sedan and drove off.”

The reported abduction scene was the 1100 block of E. Chelten Ave., which is where the Lonnie Young Recreation Center and pool are located.

Found more than a mile and a half away near Chew Avenue and Gorgas Lane, the youth said he did not know where he managed to escape, according to police.

9:30 a.m. Thursday update

A police-department spokeswoman said that there are no new developments in the case as of Thursday morning.