Girl, 12, Kidnapped In Front Of Her Home, Escapes

WHITTIER, CA — Two men grabbed a 12-year-old girl in front of her Whittier home Monday morning and forced her into their car, but she managed to escape unharmed a few blocks away, according to the Whittier Police Department.

Police hope the public may help identifying the two men because of their distinctive appearance. The botched kidnapping happened at 9:30 a.m. Monday in the 13400 block of Franklin Street, where the girl was standing in front of her house, according to the Whittier Police Department.

According to police, one of the men walked up to the girl and grabbed her, placing her inside a 2000-model green four-door Chevy Malibu or similar type sedan. The girl told police she saw another man inside the vehicle.

The men drove her a few blocks away and then the suspects stopped and got out of the car in the 13200 block of Dittmar Avenue. While the suspects were away, the girl fled the car and ran to an adult for help, police said.

One of the suspects was Hispanic, in his 20s, with black hair and a beard. He was described as having a shaved line across his left eyebrow and was wearing a white shirt and blue jeans, police said.

The other suspect was Hispanic, in his 30s, with a shaved head. He was wearing a white tank top, tan pants, and had a tattoo of a dragon on his right bicep.

Anyone with information about the kidnapping was urged to call the Whittier Police Department's on-duty watch commander at (562) 567-9255 or the department's Crime Tipline at (562) 567-9299.

City News Service contributed to this report. Image courtesy of the Whittier Police Department