Attempted Kidnapping of Teen Foiled

LA PALMA - A 13-year-old girl on her way to school was forced into a van Monday by a man wearing a hockey-style plastic face mask, but he pushed her back out after seeing a patrol car nearby, police said.
The girl was walking alone on Park Circle West just off La Palma Avenue when the man stopped at the curb, got out the driver-side door and pulled her into a beat-up, purple and gray van, said La Palma police Capt. Eric Nunez.

She was only in the van for a matter of seconds before he pushed her out, Nunez said.

"The victim indicated that she saw a patrol car and that he was looking in the same direction," Nunez said. "She believes that the suspect saw the same police vehicle and pushed her back out of the van to make good his escape."  

The girl, who was on her way to Walker Jr. High School, was not physically harmed, Nunez said. After she ran back home and police were called, the teen was able to give a good description of the suspect, Nunez said.

The suspect was described as 5 feet 9 inches tall, with a thin build, light to medium brown skin and dark hair styled in cornrows, Nunez said.

He was wearing a black short-sleeve shirt and dark pants with paint stains.

Officers conduct patrols before and after school, on a routine basis, to insure the safety of children, Nunez said. But he encouraged students to walk to school in a group and be as observant as possible whenever they are in a public place.

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