A victim was able to narrowly avoid being kidnapped after she escaped from the trunk of a vehicle in Canyon Country, and now detectives are asking for the public’s help in identify the suspect, officials said Wednesday.
“On Thursday, Aug. 5, 2021, the pictured suspect kidnapped the victim as she was walking on Lost Canyon Road/Harriman Drive in Canyon Country,” detectives said in a crime bulletin posted by the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station Wednesday. “The victim was able to escape shortly after, but the suspect remains outstanding.”
On the day of the kidnapping, details were sparse for the alleged crime, but officials said around 11 a.m. a civilian had witnessed an attempted kidnapping.
“As the victim was walking northbound on Lost Canyon Road, approaching Humphrey’s Parkway, a vehicle pulled up alongside her in which the suspect exited the driver’s seat and dragged her towards his vehicle,” said Deputy Natalie Arriaga, a spokeswoman for the SCV Sheriff’s Station. “He placed the victim in the trunk of his vehicle and became startled by a passerby.”
“The suspect entered the driver’s seat and drove off as the victim was able to successfully exit the trunk,” Arriaga added.
The victim, after getting away from the suspect, was found by officials from the Los Angeles County Fire Department and transported to Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital. It was there that detectives interviewed the woman.
The suspect is described as a Hispanic man, 5 feet, 7 inches tall, weighing approximately 185 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes. The vehicle allegedly used in the kidnapping was described as a white, 1990s four-door sedan, according to investigators.
Anyone with information about this incident can contact Detective McCarthy at 661-799-5149. If you prefer to provide information anonymously, you may call “Crime Stoppers” by dialing (800) 222-TIPS (8477), use your smartphone by downloading the “P3 Tips” Mobile APP on Google play or the Apple App Store or by using the website https://lacrimestoppers.org.
