Suspect wanted in attempted Harris County abductions
Investigation underway following attempted abduction of two women in north Harris County, Texas
Texas authorities are asking the public for help in finding a man in Harris County who they say tried to kidnap two different women on Saturday -- with one of the incidents caught on video.
The man, described by the Harris County Sheriff's Office as a light-skinned black man between the ages of 19 to 25 years old, was driving in a dark-colored Toyota sedan in north Houston Saturday morning when he allegedly tried to force a woman into his vehicle.
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"We were going to the store when we saw a young lady run out in front of a garbage truck," Larry Whitfield, a witness, told KPRC-TV. "She was screaming and hollering, 'Help me! Help me! Help me!'"
County officials said the man drove next to the woman and got out of his vehicle before trying to force her into the car. The woman "fought back and pushed the male away," before running away, police said.
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While authorities were responding to the scene, a second incident was reported "a short distance" from the first attempted kidnapping, and apparently was captured on video.
The second woman, identified by KPRC as 55-year-old Luz Baena, told officials that the man forced her off her bicycle and tried to push her into his car.
"He threw the bicycle and I said, 'What do you want from me,' and I panicked," Baena said. "I said, 'What do you want? You can have the bicycle,' and he said, 'No, I want you.'"
She said the man grabbed her arm and forced her into his car. He drove roughly two blocks — "I’m thinking he’s going to kill me. No, no, no. I need to do something. I don’t want to die now" — before she said she jumped out of the car.
Baena suffered broken bones in her face in addition to other injuries, but police considered them, and the other woman's injuries, non-life-threatening.
Investigators say the suspect is between 19 to 25 years old, clean-shaven and was wearing khaki pants and a white shirt during the incidents.
His vehicle is believed to be a silver or dark gray-colored Toyota sedan with tinted windows and damaged to the front right side.
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