Georgia police have released surveillance photos of a man who allegedly tried to kidnap two women outside a Cobb County Walgreens pharmacy.
Smyrna police said in a statement that on Saturday, July 27, an unidentified black man attempted to lure two black female customers into a cargo van.
The disturbing incident happened around 9 p.m. at 2670 Cobb Parkway in Smyrna and the suspect was captured on cellphone video.
The suspect is described as a black male with a light skin complexion, full beard, and wearing glasses. His left arm is covered in a full-length tattoo.
He was last seen wearing a light color baseball cap, black T-shirt, and black shorts with a white and yellow Nike logo on the left side of the shorts.
The vehicle the suspect allegedly tried to lure the young women into has been identified as a white Nissan.
Woman Tries to Kidnap Kids at Airport, Parents Wrestle Her Down
The incident follows the case of a woman who was arrested on June 22 for attempting to kidnap two children at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport while the parents wrestled to protect them.Esther Daniels walked over to where the family was standing and tried to snatch a stroller with a child sitting in it. The shocking surveillance video taken inside the airport shows the child’s mother fighting with Daniels.
At that point, an Atlanta police traffic control officer who witnessed the commotion ran across the airport atrium to prevent the kidnapping and then ran after Daniels.
Three other officers put her down on the ground before arresting her and taking her away in a wheelchair.
“Ms. Daniels continued to fight to make her way back toward the kids and I had to bring Ms. Daniels down toward the ground to keep her from getting back toward the victims,” one of the officers who grabbed Daniels told The Journal-Constitution.
Child Abductions in the United States
A child becomes missing or gets abducted every 40 seconds in the United States, according to Parents.com.It says, based on the identity of the abductor, there are three types of kidnappings—family kidnapping where the child is abducted by someone from within the family, acquaintance kidnapping, and stranger kidnappings.
Family kidnappings account for 49 percent of the total, acquaintance kidnapping about 27 percent, and stranger kidnapping about 24 percent.
Out of these, 92 percent were endangered runaways, 4 percent were family abductions, and less than 1 percent were non-family abductions.
“It doesn’t happen very often, but they’re certainly the cases that capture our attention because they strike at our worst fears,” Robert Lowery, a vice president at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children told Reuters.
Most of the stranger kidnappings happen in outdoor locations and victimize more females than males. Most of these happen on the street and the abductor tries to grab the victim or lure them into vehicles.
“In 80 percent of abductions by strangers, the first contact between the child and the abductor occurs within a quarter-mile of the child’s home,” said Parents.com.
The portal says acting fast is critical. In abduction cases where children are ultimately murdered, 74 percent of children are found dead within three hours of kidnapping.
