Man sought in Orange kidnap attempt

Media General News Service
Published: May 4, 2008

ORANGE — Authorities are on the lookout for a suspect who attempted to abduct a student at Prospect Heights Middle School on Wednesday.

“Prospect Heights Middle School was placed in a Code Red lockdown as a result of a suspicious person on school property. The police were immediately notified and all the schools across the county went into a modified lockdown,” said Ann Bledsoe of the Orange school system.

As a precautionary measure, she added, the Taylor Administrative Complex next door was placed on modified lock-down, as were all other Orange County schools.

At 11:30 a.m. Wednesday an eighth-grader at Prospect Heights reported that she had been grabbed by the arm by a stranger, who attempted to drag her from the building, Orange County sheriffs Chief Deputy Tim Murphy said.

“She broke free and ran to the nearest office. Meanwhile, the suspect exited the building,” Murphy added.

Murphy said the school was immediately placed on Code Red status and placed on a lockdown.

A deputy already in the building was joined within minutes by officers and deputies from the Sheriff’s Office and other nearby law enforcement agencies.

Murphy said that while one group of officers searched the interior of the building, another group established a perimeter on the exterior; both began searching for the would-be kidnapper.

The victim provided an excellent description of her attacker, Murphy said, and officers and deputies — including a canine officer — performed an extensive search of the school property and surrounding area and neighborhoods.

The suspect has not been located and the search is ongoing, Murphy added.

The Sheriff’s Office has released a composite sketch of the suspect based on the victim’s observations.

The search continues, Murphy said. “Since then, we have gone door to door in the neighborhoods surrounding the school. We have identified and eliminated people matching the suspect’s description.”

Murphy said the young victim was not injured in the attempted kidnapping. Her parents were notified immediately following the attack and met the girl at the middle school, he said.

Citizens are asked to be on the lookout for a black male in his late teens or early 20s. He is approximately 6 feet tall and was last seen wearing dark blue jeans and a white tank top. He is reported to have a raised scar beneath his left eye, and he wears his hair in short twist dreadlocks. He has tattoos on his arms.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Orange County Sheriff’s Office at 672-1200.

Authorities are on the lookout for a suspect who attempted to abduct a student at Prospect Heights Middle School on Wednesday.  The Orange County Sheriff’s Office released this sketch. Anyone with information is asked to call 672-1200.