A TikToker who claims a man attempted to abduct her at the Walmart in Egg Harbor Township never called police, BreakingAC has learned.
"So, I almost just got kidnapped at Walmart," Gracie Spina says on a TikTok posted Monday.
"We did locate and review the surveillance video of the alleged incident involving Spina," Capt. Heath Per told BreakingAC. "We found no evidence to support or corroborate her claims. Attempts to contact Spina during the investigation have gone unanswered."
The woman who goes by @gracie.spinaa on TikTok weaves a tale about a man who kept staring at her while she shopped at the store. After she ran from him, she saw him standing in the same spot when she went to the self-checkout.
He left the store, and she said she approached a friend who works there, and two plainclothes security guards responded: one walked her out with the other staying at the door.
As they did, she said, there was a black van parked nearby with its hazards on.
Her account makes no indication the man made any attempt to approach or grab her, or that she saw him in or near the black van.
"The Spina incident revealed it was just a male shopping with his family," Per said. "There was apparently a black van with a sliding door open in the parking lot, which the male who Spina references had nothing to do with."
While Spina does not mention calling police in the video, she does make the claim in the caption.
"I also contacted the police, and they sent a cruiser to patrol the parking lot to see if the van was still there," she wrote.
She also reiterates this in the comments: "For those who did not read the caption, I DID call the police, and they immediately sent a cruiser to patrol the parking lot to see if he was there."
But that is not true, according to police.
"We never received a call from Gracie Spina making such a report," Per said. "We have no record of her at all or any call for service related to her claim. The Tiktok seems to be taking on a life of its own."
The only call police got was from someone who viewed the TikTok and thought she may have had the same thing almost happen to her, he said.
That woman reported a "feeling like she was 'going to be' approached by several males in the Walmart on a different date," he said.
"The people never actually approached her due to her supposedly summoning her boyfriend who was in the store with her," Per continued. "There was no verbal interaction between this person and these alleged males who simply walked away once the boyfriend arrived."
Police were interviewing that woman.
"Everyone should always have a certain level of situational awareness when out in public," Per said. "If someone sees suspicious activity, we encourage them to report it. If someone feels unsafe they can seek out store security or call the police."
While there have been other posts on social media about similar incidents, none has been confirmed in the township, he added.
"At this time there is no evidence to support that anyone is being stalked in our Walmart, or any other store in this jurisdiction, for the purpose of human trafficking," Per said.
No one at Walmart could be reached for comment. Spina did not respond to attempts to reach her via social media.
At least three local radio news outlets reported the TikTok without confirming any information with police.
