Authorities released new details Saturday in the attempted abduction of a child in northwest Indiana.
A father in the Fish Lake community said he was trying to help a stranger on Thursday when he came outside his home to find the man trying to kidnap his 1-year-old son.
The man told the LaPorte County Sheriff’s office that he was with his child in the yard of his home in the 7400 block of SR 4 just after 6 p.m. when he saw someone get out of a vehicle parked near the end of his driveway, presumably broken down.
The driver asked the man for some water and the homeowner went inside to get it, authorities said. When he came out of the house with the water, the man said he saw the driver trying to put the baby into a duffel bag, according to police.
The father assaulted the driver and took his son inside before returning to confront the man again, police said. As he went back outside, he saw the driver fleeing in the vehicle that had been parked on the street.
The suspect was described as a white man believed to be in his 40s, with brown, scruffy 'surfer-type' hair, the sheriff’s office said Saturday.
He stands around 5'11" tall, weighing an estimated 200 pounds with a stocky, athletic build. Authorities said the man has tan, leathery skin, crow’s feet around his eyes and was unshaven.
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At the time of the incident, he was wearing a white T-shirt, gray camouflage shorts, brown work boots with white socks and rings on both hands, according to the sheriff’s office.
The vehicle he fled in was similar to a silver or gray 1990's model Ford Aerostar van, according to police, who said the father did not believe anyone else was in the van.
Anyone with information on the incident is asked to contact the sheriff’s office at (219) 326-7700.
