Collier deputies investigating suspicious incident at North Naples library

COLLIER COUNTY, Fla.- Officials are investigating a suspicious incident involving a child that was reported to have taken place Tuesday at the Collier County Library branch located on Orange Blossom Drive in North Naples.

The child’s mother contacted CCSO on Wednesday and told deputies that a Hispanic woman about 30 years old attempted to speak with her 1-year-old daughter at the library Tuesday afternoon.

The woman spoke at first in Spanish and then in English. She reached her hand out to the child and said, “Let’s go. Take my hand.” When the mother approached her, she hurriedly left the library.

The incident has other parents who take their kids to the library on edge.

“It scared me because that’s a government facility and it’s deemed a safe place,” Lauren Osborne said. “And to have an attempted abduction there in such a public location, it’s scary.”

In the 911 call, the mother said she was watching her daughter in the Children’s Center from a distance when she noticed the woman reaching out to her.

“The woman didn’t have any children and then she had sunglasses on, which I felt was weird,” she told dispatchers.

The woman is described as 5 feet 2 inches to 5 feet 3 inches tall with a slender build and dark hair pulled in a bun. She was wearing sunglasses. Authorities say at no time did the woman and the child make physical contact.

The director of the library did not want to speak on camera but says they are cooperating with law enforcement. CCSO tells WINK News they are looking to see if there is any surveillance video of what happened.

If you have any information, call the Collier County Sheriff’s Office at 239-252-9300. Or, to remain anonymous and be eligible for a reward, contact Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers at 800-780-8477.