Suspect Sought In Attempted Abductions Teen Says Man Tried Twice To Kidnap Her; Incident Similar To Attempt To Abduct Another Girl Last Week

Coeur d’Alene police investigators are asking the public to help them catch a man suspected of trying to abduct two girls.

“It seems he’s targeting ladies in their early teens,” said Sgt. Chuck Fritts.

A 13-year-old girl told Coeur d’Alene police that on Monday a man pushed her into his car and tried to kidnap her. It was the second time the man had tried to get her into his car, according to police reports.

A 14-year-old girl reported a similar incident last week that police believe may be related.

The 13-year-old first was approached by a man on the morning of Feb. 10 as she was walking north on Moccasin Road to her bus stop.

The man stopped his car, got out and said to the girl, “Come on honey, get in the car,” police said.

The girl ran home to her grandmother and called police.

On Monday, the girl told police she again was walking to her bus stop when she noticed the man’s car parked along the street about 200 feet from her home.

When she started to walk by, the man grabbed her by the arm and told her, “You wouldn’t get in my car last time. You’re going to get in this time,” police report.

He then put the girl in the passenger side of the car. While he was walking around to the driver’s side, the girl noticed there was no handle on the inside of her door.

She told police she rolled down the window and crawled out. She ran to a neighboring house and called police.

The girl also thought she saw the man’s car near her home a third time, said Sgt. Fritts.

A 14-year-old Coeur d’Alene girl told police she was walking home from Lake City High School on Feb. 20 when a man pulled up in his vehicle along Appleway and asked her if she wanted a ride.

The girl got in his car and the man offered to take her home. But just a few blocks from her house, the man undid his pants and exposed himself to her, police said.

The girl told police the man put his hand on her leg. She told him to stop and the man drove past her house. He eventually stopped and let her out without touching her any more, police said.

Sgt. Fritts said the girls do not know each other.

Similar descriptions of the men and the cars involved lead police to believe it may be the same man.

The man is described as white, about 6 feet tall, in his late teens to mid-20s. He has brown hair cut short in a “butch”type hairstyle. In one of the incidents he was wearing a blue baseball hat.

The car is an older model two-door vehicle colored primer gray, Fritts said. It may be an older Ford Mustang that may have a hatch back. The interior is a black or dark green vinyl-type material.

Fritts urged children to walk in groups. If a stranger does approach them, they should immediately go to a populated place and report any suspicious activity to police.

Anyone with information regarding these crimes is asked to call the Coeur d’Alene Police Department at (208) 769-2320.

, DataTimes