Investigators released a surveillance photo Thursday of a Jeep suspected of following two children walking home from school in Scripps Ranch in what may have been an attempted abduction.
According to the San Diego Police Department (SDPD), a 10-year-old girl and her 8-year-old brother were walking home from Jerabek Elementary School Tuesday at around 3:30 p.m. when an unknown man driving a Jeep began to follow them along the 10000 block of Scripps Trail.
Investigators said the suspect repeatedly stopped his vehicle in front of the children. At one point, he exited the Jeep and allegedly attempted to grab the boy and also tried to grab the girl by her backpack.
Police said the girl was able to push the man away and the kids ran up a hill to escape from the suspect. The man then drove away.
SDPDTwo days later, investigators may have the break they need to find the alleged predator.
A security camera mounted on the front of the nearby shopping center, Market at the Ranch, was aimed toward some gas pumps and Scripps Trail. The cameras captured a grainy image of what police believe is the Jeep driven by the suspect in the attempted abduction.
Police said the vehicle appeared to be a faded back mid-1990s model Jeep Cherokee. Investigators released the photograph of the vehicle in hopes that someone will be able to identify its owner and the whereabouts of the suspect.
According to investigators, the suspect was described as a white man who stood between 5-foot-5 and 5-foot-8 with dirty blond hair and a left eye described as having unusual characteristics. The suspect wore a white T-shirt, camouflage pants and red and white shoes.
Scripps Ranch is made up of many single-family homes and children, so the attempted abduction and lack of arrest is troublesome for many parents who live in the area, including Tiffanee Edwards and Randy Swisher.
“It's kind of alarming that it is so close by and these are older than my kids," Edwards told NBC 7. “It's hard enough to keep track of both of them at one time. I do go out a lot with them thinking it's a safe area and it's fine."
“This is an area you don't expect something to happen like that around here,” said Swisher. “You watch it on the news and you know it is happening out there, but I feel like I can trust everyone around here.”
Anyone with information about the Jeep or suspect can call SDPD Acting Detective Arthur Cameron at (858) 538-8012 or email him at ACameron@pd.sandiego.gov, or call the SDPD at (619) 531-2000 or Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.
