A 3-year-old was almost abducted by a stranger during a family barbecue Sunday near Southwest Blanton Street and 160th Avenue in Washington County.
The mother told KGW that a neighbor was supposed to keep an eye on the boy, but he disappeared. When family members realized they hadn't seen the boy for about 5 minutes, they went looking for him.
An aunt spotted a stranger pulling on the boy's arm. She yelled at the suspect, who let go of the child and fled west on Southwest Blanton Street. The child is safe.
"There's another outcome that could've went wrong, just to know that somebody was attempting to take my child has me ... I haven't been OK," the mother told KGW. "I'm shaking since then. My son's not acting right, my son's clinging to his dad. He doesn't want to be around anyone other than us."
The Washington County Sheriff's Office continues to investigate the attempted abduction. They searched for the suspect, described as a white man in his 30s, but didn't find him.
Some witnesses told police there was a second suspect, a black man, in the area at the same time, who ran off when the family yelled at the first suspect. Police found a man who matched the description of the second suspect in the area and arrested him on an unrelated warrant. Police said they haven't determined if he was related to the attempted abduction.
"Keep hold of your kids, love them tonight, hold 'em, tuck them in," the mother said. "Be grateful because I'm grateful. It could've been a total different story."
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call the Washington County Sheriff's Office at 503-846-2700.