Oriskany Mother Warning the Public After Her Son Was Grabbed at Dollar General

An Oriskany mother is sounding the alarm following an incident involving her young son at the Dollar General on State Route 69.

Jessica Goodemote took to Facebook to warn the residents of Oriskany and the public at large of the disturbing and scary incident that went down. Goodemote says, "My son Ashton was in Oriskany Dollar General tonight and a man in his mid twenties tried to grab him." She went on to give a detailed description of the young man who allegedly tried to grab her son. He's described as,

• Tall, maybe 6'2" or 6'3"
• Long, black and wavy hair
• Dark eyes
• Thin
• Wearing a yellow/gold shirt, with tan pants and in possession of a black backpack.

According to Goodemote, both her and the clerk working inside the Dollar General called police and got them involved. Goodemote says both the police and her husband were unable to locate the individual after the encounter. She believes her son and his friends are not the only ones who were followed or targeted.

It is important to note that these are only allegations at this time and this individual is innocent until proven guilty. While this is a serious charge, it's important that law enforcement conduct an investigation and get to the bottom of this. Having said that, the motivation of this mother is to warn the public of a possible threat or danger.

WIBX reached out to law enforcement to check into the validity of the claims. Oneida County Sheriff Rob Maciol says that his department is in fact investigating an incident that happened at both the Dollar General and Cliff's Local Market in Oriskany. Maciol says,

We received the call as a suspicious person at Dollar General.  There was a call at Cliffs not long after the Dollar General call reporting a suspicious person.  Law Enforcement was unable to locate anyone at either location. We are unsure if it’s related or not, but are assuming so since the businesses are close to one another.  Our case is open and still under investigation.

It is always important to stay vigilant and be aware of your surroundings. It's also important to know if you see something, you're always urged to say something.