GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – A 12-year-old girl in Grand Junction escaped an attempted kidnapping while walking home from school Monday afternoon, becoming the second girl to do so in a single day across the state.
The 12-year-old girl told Grand Junction police she was walking home from Redlands Middle School after missing the bus. While walking on the bike path that travels underneath the Grand Avenue Bridge, she was reportedly approached from behind by a Hispanic man with a white mustache she described as being in his 60s with an average build and height, and wearing a green and gray hat and blue jeans, according to news release from the Grand Junction Police Department.
She told police the man grabbed her from behind and tried to pull her off the path, but she was able to escape and run home. Additionally, she said the man was holding a handgun at the time of the attempted abduction. She was not physically injured, police said.
“We understand that reports like these are very scary. We encourage parents to talk with kids who walk to and from school about what to do if they’re approached by a stranger or someone who makes them feel unsafe,” said a spokesperson from the department in the news release. “Make sure your kids are traveling in groups whenever possible, and are taking well-traveled, safe routes.”
No suspect has been identified at this time, police said. If anyone knows anything about the attempted kidnapping, you are asked to call the non-emergency dispatch line at (970) 242-6707 and reference case number 19-48048.
Second attempted kidnapping in Colorado in a single day
The incident in Grand Junction is the second reported case of an attempted kidnapping of a child in Colorado this week.
Police in Broomfield said Tuesday their detectives were following up on dozens of leads after a man tried to abduct a young girl Monday in the Broadlands neighborhood.
The girl told police a man got out of a pickup truck near 144th Ave. and Lowell Blvd. as she walked home from school and tried to push her inside his truck.
She escaped and ran away and told police that the suspect was a white man between 30 and 40 years old, with an average build and of an average height. Broomfield police said the truck appears to be a gray 2010 Dodge Ram 1500 with aftermarket wheels.