Anoka authorities are investigating a report that a 10-year-old boy was briefly abducted Monday, according to a news release Tuesday from the Anoka County Sheriff's Department.

In the release, Cmdr. Paul Sommer said authorities are also "working on validating portions of the information provided by the child and his family."

Sommer said that just before 5:30 p.m. Monday, Anoka police received a report that the boy had been briefly abducted from the 600 block of Brisbin Street in Anoka. The report came after the child reportedly called his parents on his cellphone to say he had been abducted, then escaped in the area of Riverdale Crossings Shopping Center in Coon Rapids.

The child said he was walking on Brisbin when an unknown party grabbed him in a bear hug and placed him into a dark-colored cargo van. The child stated that he pushed open a rear door and escaped in the parking lot of the Chipotle parking lot at Riverdale Crossings, then went to a nearby Buffalo Wild Wings, from which he called his mother.

The child had no suspect description, Sommer said

Sommer said the child had been home from school yesterday and left home without his parents' permission. Authorities are reviewing video from the areas he mentioned to try to determine if his report is valid.

STAFF REPORT