Police are hunting for a man they believe has stalked and attempted to kidnap young girls during the past three weeks as they walked to elementary and middle schools in a Littleton neighborhood.
Sgt. Trent Cooper of the Littleton Police Department said that young girls were approached near Centennial Academy, 3306 W. Berry Ave., and Goddard Middle School, 3800 W. Berry Ave.
Cooper said that two sisters were targeted in both the first and second weeks of this month. The children did not know the exact date of the first incident, he said, but believed it was the week beginning Dec. 2.
The second episode involving the sisters occurred on Dec. 11, Cooper said. That day, the suspect followed them as they walked toward Centennial Academy, he said. The older of the sisters noticed the vehicle circling them as they walked, and she reported the incident.
Cooper said the most recent episode occurred at about 7:30 a.m. Tuesday, as three young girls walked to school in the 3400 block of West Berry Drive.
“The driver got out of the vehicle and told them to get into the van as he opened the rear doors,” Cooper said. “The children ran back towards their home, to a neighbor’s house, to report the incident.”
Cooper said that as the girls fled, the driver put the van in reverse and backed up in order to follow them.
The neighbor called police.
Cooper said the situation is of concern because the neighborhood where the incidents occurred is filled with children in the morning walking to the two schools.
Police describe the suspect’s vehicle as being an older model white van with tinted windows and with rear doors. It had not been washed recently.
The suspect is described as being 6 feet tall, in his 30s or 40s, with brown shoulder-length hair. He was described as being of thin to medium build.
Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com
