AN URGENT hunt is underway for a “man with red eyes” who “tried to pick up and run away with a three-year-old girl before her mum stopped him”.
The attempted abduction took place in Wolverhampton on Thursday evening.
In a statement, a spokesperson for West Midlands Police said: “We received a report that a man tried to pick up and take the young girl while she was outside a house in Leicester Street at around 5.15pm yesterday (9 January) with an older relative.
“He was stopped by the child’s mother and is then understood to have left in the direction of Harrow Street.
“Thankfully, the child was not injured and we’re offering support to her, and her family, as we work to identify and locate the person involved.
“CCTV is being retrieved and reviewed and we’re speaking to people in the area as investigators continue with house-to-house enquiries.
“The suspect is believed to be mixed race, aged in their 20s to 30s and around 5ft 9ins tall. He had short curly dark hair, facial hair and brown eyes which showed signs of reddening.
“We know how concerning this will be, and we’ve got local officers out in the neighbourhood to offer reassurance. However, this is being treated as an isolated incident at this stage.”
Det Insp Nicola Pestel at Wolverhampton CID added: “We understand that this will be a shock for people, and our investigation to trace and detain the person involved is moving at pace.
“We’d ask everyone in the area to support us by coming forward with any information they may have, to check doorbell cameras or dashcams in their cars, for any footage which may assist our enquiries.”
Anyone with information, is asked to please get in touch with us via 101, or Live Chat, quoting log 3766 of 9 January.
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