Posted on Fri, Nov. 13, 2009

WICHITA — Police are asking for the public's help in finding a young girl who may have been abducted from a south Wichita neighborhood this afternoon.

Wichita police Sgt. Mark Jackson said several people reported seeing the girl, who was described as 9 to 11 years old, forced into a white pickup near Clark and Wichita about 3:40 p.m.

Police have received no reports of missing children, Jackson said, and there are indications that the man driving the truck may have been a relative of the girl.

Witnesses said the girl was walking in the 2100 block of South Wichita, southeast of Broadway and Mount Vernon, when the pickup pulled alongside her.

After exchanging words with the girl, Jackson said, the driver forced her into the truck and drove off.

The girl, who may be Hispanic, had a brown pony tail, was wearing a dark school uniform and was carrying a dark-colored backpack, Jackson said.

He said the man, also believed to be Hispanic, was about 30 years old and was wearing blue jeans, a white tank-top shirt and cowboy boots.

Jackson said officers canvassed the neighborhood and were unable to find the pickup.

He asked anyone who knows what happened near the intersection of Wichita and Clark to call 911 or the Police Department's Patrol South Bureau at 316-350-3440.

Reach Hurst Laviana at 316-268-6499 or hlaviana@wichitaeagle.com.