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WEST JORDAN — Police are looking for a man they believe may have tried to abduct an 8-year-old girl in West Jordan Sunday evening.
The girl was riding her bicycle near 7800 South and 3600 West. When she came around a corner, she was startled and fell off her bike, according to West Jordan police Sgt. J.C. Holt. She told police a man then grabbed her under her armpit and said something similar to "come here you stupid girl."
The girl feared he was trying to take her, although police aren't positive of that, Holt said.
"She mentioned that she fought him off, that she started kicking him," Holt said. "She said she kicked him in the groin and created some distance, and hurried and ran home and told her parents about it."
The girl's parents called police, and officers came out to the neighborhood around 8 p.m. Sunday and tried to look for the man, Holt said. But they weren't able to find him.
"I'm feeling very nervous. It's very unsettling, especially with my wife and I having four children," neighbor Tyler Wood said Monday. "You want to let your kids take off and ride their bikes, and ride their scooters; it's very nerve-wracking."
The man is described as a thin, Caucasian male with dark hair in his 30s, with tattoos, ear piercings and a black nose ring.
Holt said the girl was very frightened and there's a possibility the man was just trying to help. If so, the police are asking the man to come forward to clear up the misunderstanding.
Contributing: Ladd Egan
