Hobsons Bay police say there is no evidence to support a woman’s claim on Facebook that someone tried to snatch her baby at Central Square Shopping Centre in Altona Meadows on Tuesday.
The woman posted that she was grocery shopping when another woman tried to take her baby but she punched her in the face and was able to stop her. The woman claimed she filed a police report.
Centre management and Coles say they are not aware of any such incident.
Inspector Richard Paterson said that as of Thursday, no report to police had been made.
Police became aware of the Facebook post on Wednesday and phoned the woman but she hung on them, he said.
“If they’re serious allegations they’re things that we have to at least look into but we can only go by information we’re told,” Inspector Paterson said.
“Anything that’s put up on social media, we need to corroborate it.
“If people are only willing to put it up on social media and they’re not prepared to speak any further about it, and there’s no other witnesses or no other people who are aware of the situation, it’s hard to follow up.
“Police have attempted to contact her on a couple of occasions and have been unable to get any further information.
“Apart from the Facebook post, there’s been no other evidence to corroborate that information.”
The woman’s Facebook account has since been deactivated.
