Two child kidnapping attempts in a week have Hutchinson police asking public for tips
Hutchinson police say two children appear to be the target of separate abduction attempts reported in the city in a week.
The first attempt, on Sept. 17, involved an 11-year-old girl who was playing in her yard in the 400 block of East 6th around dusk when someone grabbed her wrist, according to a Facebook post from the department. The girl told police when she turned around, she saw a tall, thin man dressed in black. She got away and ran to a nearby building to hide. The man walked off, and she last saw him heading west down an alley. Police responded at 7:41 p.m.
A week later, on Sept. 24, police say a mother was putting her 3-year-old son into a car seat to leave the Kwik Shop at 1401 E. 4th when someone approached her van shortly before 5 p.m. The mother told police she had just strapped her son in following a shopping trip and had moved to the driver’s seat to close the van’s rear sliding door when “an unknown subject with facial hair” tried to reach in toward the boy. The person ran away when the mother yelled.
Authorities are asking anyone with information about the cases to call Reno County Crime Stoppers at 620-694-2666 or Hutchinson police Lt. Dustin Loepp at 620-694-2829.
This story was originally published September 25, 2020 at 10:51 AM.
