Parents In Princeton On Alert After Attempted Kidnappings
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PRINCETON (CBSDFW.COM) - Some Collin County parents are having serious talks with their children tonight after a series of attempted kidnappings.
With several apartment buildings and more homes along Bonnie View Drive in Princeton , children often play there together. Perhaps that's why it's a target location for the suspect who's preying on kids all over the region.
Tashaunia Jones knew something was strange about the man she didn't recognize in her neighborhood.
"He was blowing the horn I guess to get the kids' attention, so he pulled up like he was parking, and when I came out, approached him, he said, 'these are my buddies.' He said, 'I came and visited them the other day,' and I said, 'you didn't come visit my kids 'cause my kids don't know you,' " Jones said.
The approach reminded investigators of an 11-year-old girl in Anna a few weeks earlier. A man with a similar description tried to lure her into his van by offering her a brownie. An 8-year girl in Van Alstyne and a 9-year-old girl in Melissa reported additional cases. When Jackie Billy asked his neighbor about the case in Princeton Wednesday afternoon, he said they spotted the suspect driving right by them.
"She pointed right at him, there goes the truck, so I jumped in my truck and followed after him, but he ran every one of these stop signs trying to get away. He got on four lanes, and he was gone," Billy said.
Billy called police as he chased the suspect truck.
"I don't want to see him come back through here because I'm not going to let him get away this time," Billy said.
Now parents are doing their best to prepare their children in case the man returns.
"I just told them if they see a stranger, someone talking to them that they don't know, they need to run," Jones said.
Right now police have only a limited suspect description with different vehicle descriptions.
Princeton Police said they are putting together a task force with other local agencies to coordinate efforts, and local investigators have reached out to the Texas Rangers and the FBI to help them with these cases.
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