San Diego authorities announced Friday they’d detained a man in connection with an attempted kidnapping that occurred in Encinitas Wednesday night.
According to reports, a 15-year-old girl was waxing her surfboard in the driveway of a friend’s house when one man jumped out of a truck, pinned her to the ground and tried to drag her back to the vehicle. Another man was operating the vehicle.
The girl narrowly escaped and sprinted home to safety. She wasn’t injured in the attempt.
The teen’s father, Encinitas resident Rick Devoe had a stark warning for parents in an interview with NBC San Diego.
“This is for real,” he said. “These guys are coming into our neighborhoods trying to snatch our kids.”
Since Wednesday night, the community has rallied in an effort to capture the attempted kidnappers.
“The whole surfing community is coming together to catch the guys,” August Neumey told NBC San Diego. “All the surf dads are posting pictures with the sketch of the guy.”
The San Diego County Sheriff’s Office released this rendering of the suspect on Thursday. Photo: NBC
Since, officials discovered a vehicle of interest – according to reports a neighbor saw the vehicle and recognized the man driving as the one in the sketch. The driver fled the scene. A neighbor told NBC San Diego she saw a man run through her backyard.
The victim describes the man who grabbed her as 5 feet, 10 inches, tall, skinny, and about 20 to 30 years old. He was wearing board shorts. She describes the man that was waiting in the truck that night also between 20 to 30 years old, about 5’11” and medium build with brown hair and a brown beard.
Any person with information about the incident is encouraged to contact San Diego County Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477 or contact the agency online at www.sdcrimestoppers.org.
