Police looking for suspect in attempted abduction of 11-year-old girl

Published 11:45 am Wednesday, January 31, 2018

Winchester Police are asking the public’s help identify the suspect in an attempted abduction of an 11-year-old girl last week.

WPD Capt. James Hall said the incident happened at a school bus stop on Redwing Drive Jan. 23.

“She was waiting at the bus stop and she was the only child at the actual stop,” Hall said. “There were other kids waiting in vehicles with parents. She said the vehicle approached here with one person inside. There was no verbal communication between him and her. He just really used hand gestures and kind of motioned for her to come to the vehicle.”

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Hall said when the girl refused, the suspect left. There was no physical or verbal contact between the girl and suspect.

“It was more of an enticement,” he said.

According to Hall, the parents were not notified of the incident until she arrived home from school that afternoon. They notified police and the girl worked with a police sketch artist to create an image of the suspect.

Police were able to interview parents who were at the bus stop who corroborated the girls’ story but could not identify the suspect.

Hall said the suspect is a white male with dirty blonde hair that the girl described as being pulled back into a “man bun.” He is clean shaven with a thin build. He said it is hard to determine a possible height since the man remained in his vehicle.

He was driving a dark blue or black SUV. The make or model are unknown.

Hall said the girl did not know the suspect and could not recall seeing him in the neighborhood previously.

Anyone with information or who may recognize the suspect is asked to call Winchester Police at 859-745-7400.

Hall said there have been no other reports of possible abductions or similar suspicious behavior, but officers have been asked to patrol areas where students are standing at bus stops more closely, particularly in the neighborhood where the incident occurred.

He said parents should avoid leaving children to wait for the bus alone, even if it is just a group of other children who can keep an eye on one another.

“Parents should remind their children to never get in a vehicle with someone they do not know,” he said. “If they are approached, they should go the other way and seek out a neighbor they know or find a nearby business where they can tell an adult and the police can be called quickly.”

About Whitney Leggett

Whitney Leggett is managing editor of The Winchester Sun and Winchester Living magazine. To contact her, email whitney.leggett@winchestersun.com or call 859-759-0049.

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