Update September 26: CPD has released surveillance images of the suspect. More information is available at this link.
Chicago police have released new information about another kidnapping attempt that unfolded in the West Loop on Sunday morning. The apparent abduction attempt is the second to be reported on the same block in the past month.
At around 8:45 a.m., a 45-year-old woman was walking southbound in the 200 block of South Sangamon when a man stepped out of a parked minivan and grabbed her, police said.
The attacker grabbed both of her arms and attempted to drag her inside the maroon minivan, which police said was either a Dodge or a Plymouth model.
As a rideshare passenger confronted the assailant, the woman screamed and fought him off, according to police.
The suspect returned to the minivan, drove around the rideshare driver’s car, and sped away. That portion of the incident was captured on a video shared on the True West Loop Facebook page.
According to the CPD alert, detectives have recovered the minivan. The suspect was described as a Black male between the ages of 30 and 40, standing 5’8″ to 6-feet tall. He was dressed in a white baggy sweatshirt with dark writing on the front and sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He was also wearing gray sweatpants.
Anyone with information about the crime should call Area Three detectives at 312-744-8261 and reference case #JF-409840. Anonymous tips can also be submitted online at cpdtip.com.
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.
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