CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. (WTVR) -- Police released a description of a man wanted in connection with an attempted abduction in Chesterfield.
Police said the man grabbed a seven-year-old girl outside her home on Larryvale Drive about 6 p.m. Thursday.
The seven-year-old told CBS 6 News reporter Sandra Jones that she is doing ok after the scary situation in her backyard.
"I thought, ‘What is this man trying to do?’" said the victim.
The girl said she was playing with her friends in the Greenleigh mobile home park Thursday evening. When she ran back into her backyard, she said a man confronted her.
"I just felt something on my arm grabbing me... I thought it was someone that I knew," she said.
When the suspect told her to come with him -- and tried to pull her in his direction -- she fought back. The girl said she kicked the man in the knee and ran for home.
The child's mother, who was home at the time, said she ran outside, but did not see anyone. She said her daughter was crying and told her that a man had just tried to take her.
"I always tell her don't talk to strangers," said Elsa Rubio. "If you don't know them, don't talk to them."
Chesterfield police Lieutenant Randy Horowitz, who said there are "a couple of witnesses that saw pieces and parts of" what happened, stressed this type of situation is rare in the county.
"More often, the cases we've had someone who would drive up in a car ask for directions to help find something,” said Horowitz. “But just showing up on foot and trying to pull someone is really a very rare occurrence.”
Horowitz offered this advice to parents: be aware of where your kids are and who is around them at all times. Additionally, he said it is vital to remain close by if your children are playing outside.
“You need to encourage your kids to know that if somebody tries to get them to go with them, and they don't know those people, they shouldn't,” said Horowitz. “And they need to make enough noise and enough struggle to keep the person from taking them."
Police described the suspect as:
- A black male
- 5 feet 10 inches tall
- Slender build
- Very short or shaved black hair and a mustache
- Wearing a dark-colored T-shirt, blue jeans and gray tennis shoes with blue stripes
- Wearing a backpack and sunglasses with dark-colored frames.
Police asked anyone with information call Chesterfield Police at 804-748-1251 or Crime Solvers at 804-748-0660.
