Feb 22, 2007 11:44 pm US/Eastern
Search Continues For Wheeling Half-Naked Abductor
WHEELING, W.Va. (KDKA) ―
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A community is on edge after a man allegedly kidnapped and sexually assaulted an 11-year-old girl.
KDKA
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Officials are putting together a composite sketch of the suspect.
KDKA
Federal authorities continue to search for a man they say kidnapped an 11-year-old girl and tried to abduct a teenager just days earlier.
"Well, he struck twice in the same area that we know of or that we believe," said Gary Wheeler, of the FBI. "And he is fairly aggressive."
Investigators say a man tried to abduct an 18-year-old girl in Martins Ferry, about a mile north from Wheeling on Sunday night.
Officials say the suspect appeared naked in a pickup truck and tried to take the girl from in front of her house.
"She had fled towards her house screaming for her father," said Gary Gaus, from the Wheeling Police Department.
Police say she escaped unharmed.
Tuesday, authorities believe the same man snatched approached two 11-year-old girls who were walking together.
Investigators say the suspect was naked and tried to start a conversation with the girls who tried to run away. He then grabbed one of them from behind put her in his pickup truck.
"The young girl was taken to Ohio and there a sexual assault occurred," an investigator said.
Officials are asking parents to keep a close eye on their children.
"There's no need for hysteria, we are going to have a large law enforcement presence in the area, we're going to be working together as a team out even this evening, and you know we feel like just a little extra prudence of keeping tabs on their kids," Wheeler said.
Authorities are working on a composite sketch of the suspect and his truck and are planning to release it early tomorrow.
Stay with KDKA for the latest details
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