Photo: YouTube / Twitter / Fort Lauderdale Police Department
Police are actively searching for the suspect.
By Nia Tipton — Written on Oct 26, 2022
A 10-year-old Florida girl was seen on surveillance footage escaping a man who tried to kidnap her for a second time in one week.
In a press release, the Fort Lauderdale Police Department said they "are investigating two related incidents involving the possible abduction of a ten-year-old girl."
Video showed the Fort Lauderdale child fleeing an alleged kidnapper.
In the footage released by authorities, the man is seen approaching the girl while she's on her way to school.
The suspect "attempted to lure her by offering candy, money and other items, which she declined," Fort Lauderdale police said.
The young girl can be seen running quickly down a residential street, eventually slowing down once she gets far from the street corner and the suspect.
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Soon after the girl has walked out of the video frame, a man believed to be the attempted kidnapper is seen running to the corner, stops, and then continues down the street in the direction of the girl before turning around and walking in the opposite direction.
The 10-year-old girl later told police that the man who attempted to kidnap her was driving a black cargo-style vane equipped with sliding doors and no windows and may have suffered slight damage to the rear light.
The suspect allegedly tried to abduct the young girl once before.
The Fort Lauderdale Police Department revealed that the surveillance footage had been the suspect's second attempt to kidnap the 10-year-old.
The first attempt happened on October 19 as the child was on her way to school. The man approached her and began offering similar items to the most recent attempt, including cash and money.
“The suspect then attempted to grab her but thankfully, she was able to run away,” the police department posted on Facebook.
They continued: “Thursday morning, it happened again. The young girl was approached by the same male while on her way to school, this time on foot. She immediately ran away towards the school and away from the male.”
According to NBC Miami, after the second attempt, a passerby intervened and told the girl to run and alert the police just seconds before she was seen sprinting down the sidewalk in the surveillance footage.
Broward County Public Schools officials said the attempted kidnapping was reported to officials at Bennett Elementary School, on the same street where the man approached the girl.
Police said the young girl is a student at the nearby middle school and did not report the initial incident until after the second one occurred on October 20.
The suspect is described as being between the ages of 30 and 40, five feet ten inches to six foot, with receding brown hair. He was seen wearing all-black clothing and glasses and may have a gray mustache or a scar on the left side of his face.
Broward County Crime Stoppers is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest of the suspect.
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Nia Tipton is a writer living in Brooklyn. She covers pop culture, social justice issues, and trending topics. Keep up with her on Instagram and Twitter.