MEMPHIS, TN -
(WMC-TV) – Police are searching for a man who reportedly tried to kidnap a 13-year-old girl Thursday morning.
According to the Memphis Police Department, the girl was walking on Castleman Street near Teal Avenue when a vehicle pulled up in front of her.
The victim said the driver got out, approached her and grabbed her, but she was able to get away. The man then got back into the car and drove off.
Because of problems in that area in the past, police put a surveillance camera on the catwalk overhead and typically a marked police car sits there, too.
"He just be sitting there watching the kids walk across the catwalk, so if some try to go back the other way, they make them to back and go to school," said Rodney Ray, who lives in the area.
But Ray said he is not sure something could have happened in this area near Wooddale High School because of the amount of kids who are typically around each morning.
"If it happened, I hope they catch ‘em, but I just don't see it happening at that time of the morning," he said. "Just too busy, some of the other kids would have had to see it."
While some remain skeptical, police will continue to investigate.
The suspect is described as a black man in his late 30s or early 40s. He was about 5'10" with a muscular build. He was wearing a blue and white baseball cap, blue jeans, white shoes, and a red jersey with an unknown number on it.
The victim said he was driving a burgundy vehicle.
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