Authorities were searching today for a man who tried to kidnap a 7-year-old girl outside an apartment building in the 13000 block of East Asbury Drive.
The girl told officer that a man she did not know walked up to her about 5:30 p.m., Sunday while she played outside her grandmother’s apartment building and grabbed her.
The man tried to pull her to the other side of the building, but let go when the girl began screaming and hitting him, police said.
A friend of the girl’s saw the attempted abduction and ran toward the victim. When the man saw the second girl running toward him he fled in a blue mini-van parked nearby, police said.
A third juvenile who was playing in the area also saw the stranger walking around the apartment complex prior to the attempted kidnapping, police said.
The victim and the witnesses described the suspect as caucasian, about 6-feet 2-inches tall, possibly in his 40s with short gray or blonde hair, blue eyes and no facial hair. He wore a dark blue shirt, a black leather vest, jeans and black shoes, police said.
The van the suspect was driving was described as a dark blue minivan, possibly a Chrysler.
Detectives are not aware of any other similar incidents in the recent past involving a similar vehicle or suspect description.
