October 11, 2007

Twelve-year old kidnapped off street in broad daylight

By Carol Rosen
Editor

San Jose Police are calling for caution after a 12-year-old girl was kidnapped about 4 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 8 on the outskirts of Willow Glen, and driven to a spot near Jeffrey Fontana Park where she managed to get away from her potential attacker about 20 minutes later, and before he could molest her.

Police are very concerned because the attacker was bold enough to kidnap the girl in broad daylight. “We need to catch him. There is nothing to suggest he won’t try this again,” said San Jose Police Officer Nick Muyo.

The 12-year-old was walking home with her 9-year-old sister when a driver in a white sedan motioned for the two to cross the street. Police say the male driver then hit the 12-year-old with his car and she landed on his hood and then fell into the street. As he drove away, her sister pulled her to the sidewalk, after which the driver made a U-turn, came back to the scene, grabbed the older girl and threw her in his car.

After he drove away, the younger girl ran home to tell her mother, who called the police. Meanwhile, the driver fought with the injured 12-year-old, punching her repeatedly. But, she somehow managed to get away and run to a nearby home and ask for help.

At the home, she called her mom and minutes later both her mother and the police showed up. She was taken to a hospital with serious, but not life-threatening, injuries. Police said she is she likely to remain there through Thursday.

She is expected to make a full recovery.

The man is described as white or Hispanic, about 6 feet tall, 30 to 40 years old, thin build with black hair and a goatee. He was driving a white sedan, possibly an older model, with two or four doors.

The attacker picked up the girl near the Walgreen’s at Gardendale Drive and Barbara Way. He drove to the 5900 block of Sterling Oaks Drive, which is where she got away from him.

“There was nothing they [the two girls] could have done to prevent this. He obviously was bound and determined to snatch one of them up. I’m pretty sure it was a deliberate act, especially the way he scooped the girl up,” Muyo said.

He also commended the two girls for their bravery and clear thinking; the older one for yelling and fighting—even though she was injured—and both for remembering details about the man and the car.

In addition, one Almaden resident got to play the hero. Jeff Gans had just come home from school when the girl knocked on his door asking for help. In various news reports, he said he invited her in, gave her water and some clothes to help her clean the blood off from the accident and then called her mother.

Minutes later, he told news people, there were a number of police cars in the driveway.

Police are urging parents to be cautious. Children should not be walking alone or in small groups; police recommend groups of five or more. They are asking everyone to be on the lookout for this attacker—see above sketch—and his white sedan.

If you either saw the incident or have seen the car or someone resembling the sketch, you are asked to call the San Jose Police Department’s sex crimes number—(408) 277-4102 or Crime Stoppers at (408) 947-STOP (7867).