Nevada County Parents Warned About Reported Near-Abductions
GRASS VALLEY (CBS13) — Nevada County parents are warned to be on high alert after two possible kidnapping attempts involving children.
A 6-year-old girl and a 16-year-old boy may have been approached by the same man. Deputies are hesitant with these kinds of reports, but in both cases, they say the information seems very credible.
Jeff Stokes is hugging his daughter a little tighter tonight. He moved his family to Grass Valley specifically to avoid this kind of danger.
"All the sudden, he comes down the end of the road," he said. "My daughter comes running up and said, 'Hey, there's a car out front and he lost his dog. He's looking for his dog.'"
Stokes says a man tried luring his child into an SUV on March 7.
"You mind, of course, goes to place where it's not fun," he said, "so you grab your daughter tight and hug her and thank her for doing the right thing."
There was another incident in southern Nevada County, just days after this first close call.
Sheriff Keith Royal says a man pulled up to a 16-year-old boy on Thursday, and again, wanted help looking for something.
"He says, 'Well don't mind what I'm looking for, just get in the car,'" he said. "We're concerned. We're trying to get the message out to the community."
The sheriff calls is a strong possibility it's the same suspect.
In the first case, the 6-year-old described a man with a shaved head, a light-brown soul patch, silver hoop earrings and a deep voice.
The 16-year-old described a large man with very short hair or bald head, with black-framed sunglasses and a deep voice.
On a picture-perfect Friday. Parents weren't just focused on the baseball game.
"I've got a 7-year-old and I'm watching him like a hawk," said parent Jill Donley. "I'm concerned it's the same person that was doing this four months ago in the red truck."
She's referring to last September when a rash of reported abductions were made in Nevada County involving red pickup trucks.
Deputies don't believe these incidents are related, but parents can't help but wonder.
"It's scary stuff," Donley said. "A lot of the parents are talking about it."
The vehicle described in Thursday's incident is an older model Dodge Durango with oxidized paint on the roof and faded black paint and tinted windows.
The vehicle in the March 7 incident is described as a newer Toyota 4Runner with shiny black paint.
Even though the vehicles are different, deputies believe the same man was behind the wheel in both cases.
