Sartell Police Say this Viral Facebook Post isn’t True

The Sartell Police Department is calling a new viral Facebook post a phony. The department made the announcement on their social media page Tuesday.

The inaccurate viral social media post claims that a woman who was walking with her three children on Pine Cone Road encountered what seemed to be a potential kidnapping and trafficking situation.

Th post alleges that the mother's two girls were biking ahead of her when a car that was driven by a woman pulled over. The woman in the car started talking to the girls ages 4 and 6. When the mom ran up to confront the lady about what she needed, she ignored the mother. A man allegedly popped up from the backseat and told her to drive away after saying some choice words to her.

The fake post goes on to say that the mom wasn't able to get a photo of the car, but did report the situation to the Sartell Police Department. The mom was allegedly told that they've been doing stings for traffickers in the area.

The post gained hundreds of Facebook reactions since originally being published.

The Sartell Police Department says they did get a call of a suspicious vehicle in the area last Thursday and there was a female who stopped and talked to a mom with kids. But, the driver wasn't making any sense and drove off. She eventually stopped to talk to another man. There was no one else in the vehicle with her, according to police.

Police have tracked down the person who originally posted the message on social media. They claim it was a classic situation of the game 'telephone'. The story changed as it got passed from person to person. Details were added to the original story that were not true.

Police warned, "it is important to know the facts of an incident before sharing other posts on social media...Also, this can be a good reminder to be aware of your surroundings when you are out and about in the community."

This is a lesson we can all stand to learn from. Thanks for setting the record straight, Sartell PD.