Man tries to abduct young students

An unknown man driving a green Chrysler Town & Country minivan attempted to abduct two young boys who attend St. Margaret’s of Cortona School on April 21, according to the boys’ mother and the police.

“They were standing right there beside that blue Jeep,” the woman said, pointing at the sidewalk between the northern boundary of the school’s parking lot and West 260th Street. “It was the first time I’d ever let them walk alone.”

According to the mother, who did not wish to be identified, her 8- and 10-year-old sons were walking past the school at 5 p.m. on their way to dinner when the incident occurred.

St. Margaret’s Principal Hugh Keenan and other officials at the school declined to speak about the incident. The day after it occurred, administrators sent a notification to parents of students at St. Margaret’s, St. Gabriel School at 590 W. 235th St. and other Catholicschools in the area.

“A Caucasian man with a beard attempted to entice the boys to get into his green Chrysler Town & Country minivan,” the message said in part. “Please be alert to your surroundings and report any suspicious behavior to the police.”

Notification also went out through St. Margaret’s weekly newsletter, “The Margaret Memo.”

A community affairs spokesman for the 50th Precinct confirmed the NYPD has opened an investigation of the incident based on witness testimony given by the two boys. But he said that gaps in their testimony subjected the account to scrutiny.

“I can say that the allegations are not 100 percent concrete,” the spokesman said. “But any threat of that nature is taken very seriously.”

The boys’ mother conceded that her sons were unable to recollect crucial evidence like a license plate number or other identifying details of the suspect and his vehicle. Nevertheless, police patrolled the area outside St. Margaret’s School as a precaution, from the day following the incident through May 1, she noted.

“He won’t be coming to this school again,” the mother remarked, adding that she did not associate the crime with St. Margaret’s or the school’s location.

“It could have been any school,” she said. “It didn’t happen on school property or during school hours.”

Asked what advice she would give to concerned parents in the northwest Bronx, the boys’ mother was clear.

“Teach them never to talk to strangers,” she said.