"The citizen attempted to ask the girl where her parents were and walked with her in hopes she could point them out," the police said, a fact verified by at least one witness.
At that point, "bystanders" told the parents that the man was "attempting to kidnap the child".
As the two were nearing the playground, three men approached them from behind, news site Patch reported. One man grabbed the girl and the other man, the child's father, punched the victim five or six times.
"I thought he was trying to take my daughter," the girl's father told News Channel 8.
"I saw this man with my daughter in his hands walking toward the parking lot. What would you do?" the father asked. "I wanted to kill him."
The father told the Washington Post that it all happened very quickly, "within 45-seconds".
The investigating officer noted the victim's face had several cuts and was swollen.
Police concluded that the man was only trying to help. "We had an independent witness that saw him walking around, asking, 'Is this your parents? Is that your father?'" Lakeland Sergeant Gary Gross wtold Fox 13 News.
According to police the young girl tried to pull away but the man was concerned for her safety and picked her up and continued walking towards the playground, "hoping that he would be able to locate the child's father".
The father and his friends were not satisfied with the man's explanation or that of the police. "So, I guess in Lakeland, you can kidnap a child and get away with it," the father said to police, local media reported.
According to WFLA, other media outlets and police, family members and friends went on social media and shared the man's photo, his Facebook page and his place of business, "calling him a child predator", WFLA said.
Police, however, called him a "good Samaritan". "It is understandable how parents can possibly be upset in a situation involving a lost child," they said. "However, this truly involved a good Samaritan trying to assist a lost child find her parents.
"Accounts of this have circulated on social media with false information and speculation. Posting false information on Facebook could cause a defamation of character claim and those posting false information could be [sued for] libel."
The police said only one person called authorities to "get the correct information".
One Facebook user responded: "I was one of those who shared post thinking it was helpful, now I feel awful that it clearly was not! Definitely teaches me to double check sources before spreading!"
"Now this man's face is all over the internet," said another commenter, "the assumptions that were made can ruin this guys life. Unbelievable."
The good Samaritan told several local outlets that he has now left town with his family for their safety. He says he will not press charges against the father.
The father made no apologies for his actions but told the Post, "All that matters is that my daughter is home safely."
- By Amber Ferguson