The FBI is still looking for a man connected with an abduction and attempted abduction in Northeast Ohio earlier this year.
Despite video surveillance footage (which you can watch below), a description of the car (dark colored 2002 or 2003 Chevy Malibu with a front lighter panel) and a composite sketch blasted out on billboards and media across the region, the 325 incoming tips haven't led to a concrete suspect or lead.
A six-year-old girl was abducted in Cleveland by the suspect back in May. An FBI spokesperson acknowledged to Cleveland.com this week that the suspect did assault the girl. "He didn't take her to have a tea party," FBI spokeswoman Vicki Anderson told Cleveland.com. "He did things to her that we're not going to go into. But she was harmed. We're happy she's alive but they didn't play Barbies."
The other incident happened back in February when the suspect tried to pull a 10-year-old girl through her bedroom window in Elyria. He had entered the home the night before and unlocked doors and windows. He was seen multiple times in the week leading up to the May abduction near the victim's house.
The composite sketch, Anderson said, isn't entirely helpful, saying it looks like half the men in Ohio.
Now the FBI is hoping that people in smaller townships and villages in Northeast Ohio recognize him. They're specifically re-directing their efforts in Lorain County, where the first known attempted abduction happened on Feb. 25.
"We're wondering if we're just targeting the right audience," FBI spokeswoman Kelly Liberti said. "When we went out to North Ridgeville to see if there was a connection with an attempted abduction out there, they had no idea what we were talking about."
A $20,000 reward has been offered for information leading to the suspect's identification and arrest. Anyone with information is urged to call the FBI tipline at 216-622-6824.
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(Updated 6/1/16): Authorities released a composite sketch this morning of the suspect wanted in connection both with the abduction of a 6-year-old girl in Cleveland (who is now safe) and attempted abductions in Lorain and Elyria. Forensic evidence from the Cleveland crime scene tied the suspect to at least one previous incident in February in Elyria when a 10-year-old girl said a man tried to pull her through her open bedroom window. Police also believe the same man could be tied to three other attempted abductions in Lorain that happened the same day as the Elyria incident.
The sketch is below. A $20,000 reward is being offered for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the suspect. Anyone with info is asked to call the FBI tip line at 216-622-6842.
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(Updated 5/26/16) Cleveland police released additional photos and video yesterday of the suspect wanted in connection with the abduction of a 6-year-old girl over the weekend. Specific details of what the girl remembers of him/his house below, but police also released photos of him and his car, as well as a short surveillance video that captured him walking.
Anyone with information is asked to call 216-622-6842.
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(Original story 5/24/16): Cleveland police today released surveillance video that captured a suspect carrying a 6-year-old girl from her house on West 104th St. on Saturday morning. She was later dropped off at a home on Lyric Avenue. She has since been released from the hospital after being reunited with her family.
The girl was able to provide a ton of details regarding the suspect and the home that he took her to. Police are asking for your help in finding him.
- A white man, 5'10", light brown hair, trimmed beard, wearing a red or maroon hoodie at the time.
- She says he took her to a red brick home with a white door.
- Inside his room, there was a painting or mural or wallpaper of a moose or deer with grass.
- There were two dogs in the home, one brown and one white.
- There were two other people at the home (who did not know she was there, she says). One of them, a woman, was cooking while the girl was in the bedroom.
Police ask anyone with tips or information about the identity of the suspect to call 216-622-6842. There's a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.
