Ottawa County sheriff looking for man who tried to abduct girls

4/30/2013

CLAY CENTER -- Extra patrols are on duty today as Ottawa County sheriff's deputies look for a man who tried to abduct girls in separate incidents Monday night in Allen Township, sheriff's Sgt. Zach Bowling said.

The man was described as white, between 60 and 70 years old, with gray hair and a scruffy gray beard. He was driving a black four-door vehicle.

In the first incident about 6:50 p.m. Monday, a woman was out for a run accompanied by her 9-year-old daughter, who rode a bicycle. The girl rode ahead, but as the mother turned a corner onto Reiman Road near Cedar Road, she noticed her daughter getting close to a black vehicle and saw the trunk open. The woman yelled and ran toward her daughter. The man looked up and sped away south on Reiman, Sergeant Bowling said.

At about 7:30 p.m., four girls ages 13-16 were walking on Front Street in Curtice when a black vehicle drove up. The driver opened a door.

"He kept saying, 'Get in my car.' That's all he said," Sergeant Bowling said. "When he did, they panicked, and they ran." 

The vehicle drove east on Front out of town, continuing on Curtice East West Road. In the first incident, the mother and daughter said the vehicle was a small black four-door car, but the girls in the second incident said it was a sport-utility vehicle.

"We have extra patrols in the area, watching the area, talking to residents to see if they have seen anything unusual," Sergeant Bowling said. "We're going to keep working at it."

Anyone with information is asked to call the Ottawa County sheriff's office.