North Idaho girl reports being abducted and assaulted
North Idaho authorities are investigating a reported abduction and sexual assault involving a teenage girl near Hayden but are having difficulty corroborating the attack.
A 17-year-old girl called 911 shortly after 10:30 p.m. Monday to report that a man had abducted her from her bedroom, taken her to the nearby woods and sexually assaulted her, according to the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies quickly set up a perimeter around where the girl was found and searched for four hours but did not locate a suspect.
“Based upon our very preliminary investigation, KCSO wants to assure the community that at this time we have not been able to validate reports that a man forcibly removed the girl from her home,” said a press release from the Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies were called to the home near St. James Avenue and Strahorn Road by a man who reported that his daughter was missing and there were signs of a struggle in her room. The girl called 911 herself a few minutes later to report being abducted and assaulted.
The search of the area was extensive, said Lt. Stu Miller. “We had every police officer, helicopter and K9 pounding around the woods and didn’t find anything,” he said.
The girl was examined at Kootenai Health and investigators are waiting for test results, Miller said.