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SNYDERVILLE, Summit County — Officials from the Summit County Sheriff’s Office are looking for a man who allegedly threatened a 13-year-old girl, saying he had a gun and forcing her to go with him on a dirt trail near the Snyderville Basin on Friday.
Authorities believe the incident was isolated and there was no immediate threat to the public, Sheriff’s Lt. Andrew Wright said Monday.
On Friday, the sheriff’s office received a missing child report when a 13-year-old girl hadn’t returned to her Park City home after missing a 6:50 p.m. Park City Transit bus pickup in the Trailside area. The girl’s parents reported her missing about 8:45 p.m. and said they had been trying to find their daughter when she didn’t arrive home on time.
Deputies searched the Snyderville Basin area for the girl. But at 9:24 p.m., the mother called officials to report her daughter had been found at a friend’s home near Trailside.
The young girl told authorities that while she was waiting at the bus stop, a man claiming to have a gun approached her and forced her to go with him on a dirt hiking trail in the area. He then allegedly took her phone and forced her to remove some clothing. The man claimed to have a gun but never revealed a weapon, Wright said; the man kicked dirt and rocks at the young girl and then quickly left the scene on foot. The child then ran to a friend’s home near the area.
Investigators later recovered the girl’s phone near the area where the incident was said to have taken place.
The man police are looking for is described as white, in his 30s, and was wearing a gray zip-up hoodie, black hat, dark pants and face covering during the incident.
Anyone who was in the Trailside area on Friday between 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. is asked to call investigators at 435-615-3601.
In response to the attempted abduction, the young girl’s parents and the sheriff’s office wanted to remind parents to talk to children about “stranger danger.”
“(The girl’s parents) want parents to take their tragic, unfortunate circumstance and use it as a teaching opportunity to remind children of stranger danger,” Wright said Monday.
Namely, if children are approached by strangers they are encouraged to scream or yell to get nearby attention.
Additionally, parents should consider having minor children travel with an adult or a friend and tell them to report any suspicious activity.
The sheriff’s office said Monday they are always patrolling these neighborhood areas and will continue to patrol via vehicles, motorcycle, horseback and bicycle.
Just a few days before the reported attempted abduction, the Summit County Sheriff’s Office horse posse was on the trail where this incident happened, Wright said.
“You never know. You never know if a child is going to be approached by a stranger, someone who is going to prey upon them,” Wright said.
