Police Release Sketch of Attempted Kidnapping Suspect

Palo Alto police have released a suspect sketch of a man wanted in connection with an attempted kidnapping of a young girl on Monday evening.

Police are looking for the man who attempted to grab the arm of an 11-year-old girl riding her bicycle in the 1600 block of Emerson Street around 5:15 p.m. Monday. Officers received a report of the incident about 20 minutes after it happened and responded to the area, but were unable to locate the suspect.

The girl told police she was riding south on Emerson Street when she noticed the suspect standing in the street and glaring at her. As the girl approached, the suspect began yelling curse words at her and then stepped off the sidewalk and attempted to grab her right arm as she passed, police said. The suspect was unable to make contact with her.

The girl screamed, pedaled faster and rode away. She told police that she heard him yell that he was going to kidnap her. The girl said she last saw him running heading north on Emerson Street, the opposite direction she was traveling, according to police. The girl described the suspect as a white man in his 30s, standing between 5 feet 9 inches and 6 feet tall and weighing between 140 and 160 pounds, police said.

The suspect had light colored hair and was balding. He was wearing eyeglasses and a puffy dark blue jacket at the time of the incident. Police have released a sketch of the suspect based on the victim's description. Palo Alto police detectives and officers have increased marked and unmarked patrols in the area to ensure community safety and search for the suspect in this case.

Anyone who witnessed the incident or has any information regarding the suspect is asked to call police at (650) 329-2413 or to contact them anonymously via email at paloalto@tipnow.org or via text or voicemail at (650) 383-8984.

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