[Update posted at 10:20 a.m. PT on June 6, 2015]
Investigators have concluded that the reported attempted kidnapping of an 11-year-old boy did not occur, according to a news release issued Friday by the Palos Verdes Estates Police Department.
[Original story, updated at 11:11 a.m. PT on May 31, 2015]
Sketches Released in Reported Attempted Kidnapping of Boy, 11, in Palos Verdes Estates
Police on Saturday released composite sketches of a man and vehicle being sought in connection with the reported attempted kidnapping of an 11-year-old boy in Palos Verdes Estates.
The boy said he was walking home from a school bus stop near the intersection of Via Margarita and Coronel Plaza (map) about 3:30 p.m. Thursday when a man approached him in a van, according to a press release from the Palos Verdes Estates Police Department.
After asking for directions, the driver claimed to have difficulty hearing, possibly to lure the boy closer, police said.
The boy was speaking to the man through the passenger-side door’s open window when someone opened the adjacent sliding door, grabbed the boy’s backpack and tried to pull him into vehicle, the statement said.
According to authorities, the boy then broke free of the person’s grasp and ran home as the van drove away.
The incident was reported about 15 minutes later. Police conducted a search of the area but were unable to locate the van or its occupants.
The driver is described as white, 40-50 years old, with tanned skin, a medium build and dark brown hair in a buzzcut, wearing a tank top. The boy did not see the second person inside the vehicle.
The van is said to be a full-size, medium-brown, 1980s-model Chevrolet with light-colored horizontal stripes on its sides, and chipped, faded paint.