TOLEDO -- Police are on the lookout for a man they say attempted to force a girl into his van on her walk to school Thursday morning.
The incident occurred on Bennett and California, in West Toledo, around 7 a.m. Police say the 15-year-old victim was walking to school when a red or maroon minivan pulled up alongside. The driver asked if the girl needed a ride and attempted to persuade the girl into entering the vehicle after she turned the offer down.
The girl continued walking down California at which point the suspect attempted to push her into the van by taking her by the arm and pushing her from the back.
A witness who had stepped outside her home to let her dogs out spotted suspect outside his van. She approached the girl and asked if she was OK. When the girl responded she was not OK, the woman quickly took the girl into her home and called police. The suspect drove away headed west on California Blvd. toward Burnham.
The suspect is described as a hispanic male, about 5'4" tall and weighing about 120 lbs. He had a moustache, slight beard and possible facial scar, and spoke with a heavy accent. He was last seen wearing a brown coat and white and blue plaid shirt. The suspect's van is described as a red or maroon minivan, possibly a 2003 or 2004 model. The van's back windows are tinted.
If you have any information on this incident you are asked to call Toledo Police Crime Stopper at 419-255-1111.
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