The woman who hollered out at a Barrington boy to "Get in the car" actually thought she was speaking to her son, said local police.

On Monday, Nov. 18, an 11-year-old boy told police that he was riding his bicycle home from school when a woman driving a gray or silver mini-van approached him, rolled down her window, and twice told him to get in her car.

About a week later, the woman who was involved in the incident told police that the whole situation was a case of mistaken identity. 

Police said the woman told them she thought the boy riding a bicycle down Middle Highway was her son. Police said the incident on Nov. 18 occurred at about 5:30 p.m., about an hour after sunset.

Barrington Police Chief Dino DeCrescenzo said the woman felt very bad about the situation. He said she tried to apologize to the boy for telling him to get in the car once she realized that he was not her son. Police said the boy had been wearing earbuds at the time.

"She thought it was her son," said Chief DeCrescenzo. "There is no threat."

Police fielded a number of phone calls after the Barrington Times reported the Nov. 18 incident. Police wanted to thank the people who had reached out to the department.