Long Beach Kidnapping Mystery Solved

LONG BEACH, CA – What looked to be a teenage girl being kidnapped in Long Beach turned out to be a prostitution-related incident, police said.

An urgent effort to find the victim was underway Friday morning when a witness reported a possible kidnapping early Friday morning at Long Beach and Artesia boulevards.

"The calling party said they saw a (man) grab a female ... 13-16 years old by her waist and put her in the front seat of (a) van," police said.

After an extensive investigation and the notification of the public and other law enforcement agencies, the van was located by sheriff's deputies in the 16400 block of Lakewood Boulevard in Bell, according to Long Beach police Sgt. Brad Johnson.

The van driver cooperated with police, he said.

It was not immediately clear if the female who was seen is a juvenile victim in a suspected prostitution operation, Johnson said, but he praised the caller who saw suspicious activity and called authorities, launching an intensive, cooperative investigation.

The man was described as black, in his 30s, 6 feet tall, with a heavy build. He was wearing a red-and-white baseball cap; a white, red and orange horizontal striped polo shirt; a white T-shirt underneath the polo short and hanging below the bottom of the polo shirt; and light blue jean shorts past the knee.

The girl was described as Hispanic, about 5 feet 3 inches tall, with a thin build and short hair. She was wearing a black zip-up hoodie, and tight black pants.

The van was described as a white 1996-2000 Chevrolet Express passenger van that had "windows all around," police said.

"The window behind the driver has a sun-shade with an upside-down Honda logo," police said. "The back window of the van has a red 'temporary registration card' with a white No. 6 on it. The plate on the vehicle is a decorative plate with 'FMU' on it, possibly white and red."

Anyone with information on the case was urged to call 911; police detectives at (562) 570-7244; or Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-TIPS.

City News Service and Patch staffer Emily Holland contributed to this post; Image via Long Beach Police Department