Chicago police issue alert after reported abduction attempt

CHICAGO - The Chicago Police Department has issued a community alert after an 11-year-old girl said she escaped a kidnapping attempt and reported seeing another girl inside a van driven by the assailant.

The girl told police a man wearing a black ski mask grabbed her and tried to force her into the back of a white van that had its windows painted over. The alleged abduction attempt took place Monday around 4 p.m. in the Woodlawn neighborhood on the city's South Side.

The girl escaped but says she saw another girl, around 12 years old, inside the vehicle with her hands and legs duct taped and screaming for help.

Police are asking residents in the area not to let children walk alone and to call 911 to report any suspicious people or vehicles.

The Chicago Tribune reports that the suspect was described as 5-foot-11-inches tall. Police are asking anyone with information to contact Area Central detectives at (312) 747-8380.