Man Tries To Abduct Child From Park In West Suburbs
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Police in west suburban Oak Park were warning parents after a man tried to kidnap a child from a park on Monday.
Around 10:30 a.m., a man approached children playing at Fox Park, located at Oak Park Avenue and Jackson Boulevard, and motioned for the kids to come over, police said.
When the children did, the man got down on his knees, and high-fived one of them. He then picked up one child, and turned to walk away.
The child's caretaker began screaming, and the would-be kidnapper put down the child, and walked away, heading south on Oak Park Avenue.
When Mark Saunders brought his granddaughter to the same park on Tuesday, he wasn't aware of the abduction attempt.
"Very disturbing, and I hope they can catch the guy. I wasn't here when it happened, but it's very concerning," he said. "I'm surprised it happened in this neighborhood. We come over here quite a bit, and I've never seen anything suspicious, but just another situation that proves you can't let the kids out of your reach and out of your sight."
Anthony Maria Noel, a parent of two children, also said he was concerned about what happened at Fox Park on Monday.
"Always, always as a parent you're always concerned about your kids, because they are your future," he said. "As citizens, we need to be aware of what's going on. We need to be vigilant. We can't leave it to the police, or to the authorities. You know, they are few in number, but we are mass in number."
The suspect was described as a black male, approximately 25 to 35 years old, standing 5'10" to 5'11", with a "stocky build," a dark complexion, round face, dark eyes, bushy sideburns, and possibly a mustache. He was wearing a black hat, black long-sleeved shirt, black pants, black fingerless gloves, and possibly a black jacket or sweater tied around his waist. Witnesses said he spoke with a foreign accent.
It was not clear if there is any surveillance video of the suspect. Police were not available for an on-camera interview Tuesday morning.
Anyone with information about the suspect should call Oak Park police at 708-386-3800.