Police investigate another possible kidnapping attempt in West Loop

A minivan involved in Sunday’s incident escapes between a parked vehicle and a good Samaritan’s car. | True West Loop

Chicago police are investigating a possible attempt to kidnap a woman on the same West Loop block where a similar incident was reported last month.

Around 8:45 a.m. Sunday morning, a 45-year-old woman was walking in the 200 block of South Sangamon when a man stepped out of a nearby van, according to Chicago police.

The man grabbed the woman and tried to pull her toward the vehicle. But she was able to escape, and the man returned to the van and fled.

Witnesses said an Uber driver and their passenger intervened in the incident. According to social media posts, video recorded from a nearby high-rise shows the van leaving the scene. This video appeared on the True West Loop Facebook group:

On August 24, a similar incident was reported on the same block.

According to a CPD community alert issued in late August, that woman was walking in the 200 block of South Sangamon on Wednesday at 7:19 a.m. when a man got out of the back seat of a dark red car and stopped her in her tracks.

Police said the man “attempted to guide the victim towards the vehicle.”

But a passerby “noticed this suspicious behavior and the victim’s body language and intervened by running across the street,” the alert said.

The Good Samaritan then used bear spray on the offender as he got back into the car, which was occupied by at least two other people, according to police.

A CPD spokesperson said no one is in custody for the latest incident. No arrests have been announced in connection with the August case, either.

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CWBChicago was created in 2013 by five residents of Wrigleyville and Boystown who had grown disheartened with inaccurate information that was being provided at local Community Policing (CAPS) meetings. Our coverage area has expanded since then to cover Lincoln Park, River North, The Loop, Uptown, and other North Side Areas. But our mission remains unchanged: To provide original public safety reporting with better context and greater detail than mainstream media outlets. Our editorial email address is news@cwbchicago.com