PASADENA – Pasadena and Deer Park police are asking for the public’s help in identifying a suspect who witnesses said is attempting to lure and kidnap girls inside a car in Pasadena and Deer Park.
Police said multiple reported instances allegedly happened Monday in the area of Red Bluff Road and Preston Avenue.
Investigators said a man in his 20′s stopped multiple juvenile girls, asking for them for directions.
Police said it was reported to them on different occasions that the man would then tell the children that he couldn’t hear them and would request for them to come closer, attempting to have them enter his car, police said.
In one of these cases, Pasadena police said the man displayed a gun and threatened the girl to do what he wanted.
The man is described as a man in his 20′s with medium-length brown hair and a stubble goatee.
Pasadena police obtained a picture of what they believe is the man’s vehicle. They described the car as a dark grey four-door sedan, possibly a Honda Civic, with black rims and a sunroof.
Police said there was also another similar case with the same car description in Deer Park.
On Wednesday, the Deer Park Police Department released a video showing the alleged suspect’s vehicle.
Deer Park PD Lt. Chris Brown said a girl was walking in the 2700 block of Hillshire to school at Bonnette Jr High when a man pulled alongside her and started speaking to her.
Anna Vega said it was her 11-year-old daughter who was walking to school on Monday around 7:15 a.m. when a young man in his 20s, she said, stopped her and tried to ask for directions. When she refused, the 11-year-old said he drove off, but came back three minutes later, yelling at her.
“It was just very alarming how he was persistent,” Vega said.
Her 11-year-old called Vega and Vega instructed her daughter to go to the nearest house and ring the doorbell.
“He started yelling at me this time and he started just asking me again and again and again,” Vega’s daughter said. “He would try to drive up on the curb to get closer.”
When she started toward a neighbor’s house, she said the driver backed up all the way down the block.
Now, Vega is hoping to warn parents to teach their children to be vigilant and know what to do in situations like these. She said she hopes the suspect is caught.
Pasadena Independent School District released the following statement regarding the incidents:
Attention Parents, Please take this opportunity to discuss safety with your children. This incident serves as a reminder for your kids to be aware of their surroundings and report all suspicious activity through our anonymous alerts system or by calling the Pasadena ISD Police Department at 713-740-0200.
Police are asking anyone with information on this to give Pasadena police a call.