Police kept a close eye on the Yorkton Summer Exhibition after an eleven-year-old girl reported being abducted from the fair by a strange man on the first day of the event.
RCMP received a report of a girl walking alone in a field north of the city at around 4 pm on July 6, Cpl. Terry Hyggen of the Yorkton Municipal RCMP told media on Thursday. When members located her just outside of Yorkton, the eleven-year-old said she had escaped from a man who had driven her three miles out of the city.
According to the girl, at around 2 pm that afternoon an older white male with grey hair, glasses, and a bald spot on the top of his head approached her at the fair.
"It's been learned that the child went to the exhibition along with another child," said Cpl. Hyggen, "and when she was separated from that child a male approached her, an adult, and lured her away from the exhibition with the promise of money."
Promising to drive her closer to the fair, the man convinced the girl to enter his vehicle, a large blue four-door car with a soft brown or grey interior. He then drove her west on Broadway Street to Sully Avenue, where he drove three miles north into the country and parked the car.
"Fortunately, the child was able to get out of the vehicle prior to any serious injuries, and several hours later she was located by witnesses and police."
According to the girl, her abductor drove away after she escaped.
"The child was upset, and it took a little while for her to calm down," said Hyggen. "However, she's okay."
RCMP put out a call for information from the public and made efforts to make themselves visible at the exhibition grounds during the four days of the fair. According to Hyggen, several tips had already been received by Thursday afternoon. No other updates had been issued by press time.
The Yorkton RCMP can be contacted at 786-2400.
Yorkton Municipal RCMP along with Yorkton General Investigation Section have arrested a 57 year old Yorkton resident and charged him in relation to the incident at the Yorkton Exhibition, when a 11 year old girl was taken from the grounds, on 2011-07-06.
Melvin Dale KOROLUK, is charged with:
Kidnaping
Assault
and Unsafe Storage of Firearms
KOROLUK will be make his first court appearance in Court at Yorkton Provincial Court at 1:00 pm today.
KOROLUK was identified as a suspect by the victim when she spotted him on a Yorkton street and alerted her mother. The RCMP was contacted and members attended and arrested KOROLUK. Further investigation and evidence gathered by investigators has lead to the charges being laid today.
The firearms charges are the result of a search warrant executed on his residence
