SAN DIEGO, Calif. (KGTV) — San Diego Police are investigating a report of an attempted kidnapping in a parking lot in the Mission Valley Mall.
Police said the attempt happened Tuesday afternoon in a parking lot near the Buffalo Wild Wings on the mall property.
According to SDPD officials, a mother was walking next to her six-year-old daughter, who was pushing her younger sibling in a stroller, when the family walked past an approximately 40-year-old Hispanic man about 5 feet 10 inches tall.
Police also described the man as having black collar-length hair, a beard, and glasses. “He was wearing a bright 'baby blue' shirt, gray pants, and white tennis style shoes," SDPD officials stated.
According to police, the man began to follow the family before grabbing the six-year-old girl and lifting her off the ground.
“The man walked a couple of feet in the opposite direction while carrying the girl. The child screamed, causing the man to release her," police said.
As of Thursday, the suspect remains outstanding and anyone with information on the case is asked to call police at 858-495-7900 or Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477.
A San Diego Police crime map shows in the last week there were four reports of attempted kidnappings or abductions in the city.
The one Tuesday near the mall, another down Interstate 8 in Mission Valley West, and then one each in Harborview and Old Town.
The police crime map shows that over the last year there's been more than 200 attempted kidnappings or abduction reports. But the database doesn't give any information about what happened, or the accuracy of the reports.
ABC 10News filed a public records request to get more information on the number of arrests made tied to kidnappings from 2020 until 2024.
