Police Release Sketch of Attempted Kidnapper

A sketch has been released of the man who tried to force an 11-year-old boy into a van as the child walked home from a school bus stop in Palos Verdes Estates.

The boy was headed home near Coronel Plaza and Via Margarita about 3:30 p.m. Thursday, when a “1980s style Chevrolet van” approached, according to the Palos Verdes Police Department.

“The driver of the van called to the victim to get his attention and ask him directions to ‘the promenade,’ “ according to a police report.

“The victim began to look at his cellphone to assist the suspect and the suspect said he could not hear him speaking and asked him to come closer to the van.”

As the boy neared the front passenger door of the van, he heard the passenger sliding door open and felt someone grab his backpack from behind and attempt to pull him into the van, police said.

“The victim quickly broke free from the second suspect’s grasp and ran from the location straight to his residence,” according to police. “He then heard the van quickly speed away from the area.”

The victim did not get a look at the suspect who grabbed him from behind, but told investigators he recalled seeing the same van in the same area at the same time of day on Wednesday, police said.

The driver was described as a white man in his 40s with a medium build, according to NBC4. He had tanned skin, dark brown hair and a buzz cut. He was wearing a tank top. The suspect had a patch of lighter skin on his right cheek, according to the police sketch.

A sketch of the van was also released. It depicted a brown-colored 1980s Chevrolet van with three stripes running along the middle of the van. The center stripe was either white or silver.

The vehicle also had two tinted windows on the left side with horizontal blinders.

Palos Verdes Estates police asked anyone with information to call them at (310) 378-4211.

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City News Service