DeKalb County police are searching for a suspect that allegedly tried to abduct a 14-year-old girl Tuesday morning.
The girl, a student at Miller Grove High School reported that she was forced into a vehicle as she walked to school. The teen told school officials that the suspect drove a short distance before letting her out near the high school.
Police are particularly concerned about this case considering the fact that three other female students reported encounters matching the suspect's description in December of 2017. The most recent incident happened on Hillandale Parkway. Two other two happened on Raven Circle and Hillvale Cove Way though the teens did not get in the car in those situations.
He is described as a black male who appears to be between 50 and 60 years old. He is bald with a brown complexion and is about 5 feet 4 inches tall. He was driving a light blue mid-sized SUV with a plate that read, in part, RIH.
DeKalb School District Superintendent R. Stephen Green released a statement to the public upon learning of the incident:
First, we are grateful our young woman was able to escape without further harm. No young person deserves to be treated so callously, and we are there for her in any way we can be. We are equally resolute in aiding DeKalb police in getting this man off the street. He has no place in our community given the risk he poses to our children. We will continue to educate our students on safe travel to and from school, and how to avoid such evils.
On Wednesday night, 11Alive spoke to Barbara Harris, who wears the title of "Grandma of the Neighborhood."
"Basically, I just sit here," she said. "I watch out for all the kids."
As she sits on her porch each morning, she keeps a keen eye on the students walking to school. And when she found out the man tried to force a 14-year-old girl into his car, she was upset.
"I feel horrible. I feel terrible for her, cause I know that's traumatizing. Cause that could happen to one of my grands at a bus stop," Harris said.
Police are still trying to track down the man. Anyone with information is asked to call the DeKalb County Police Department's Special Victim's Unit at 770-724-7710.
