Portage la Prairie RCMP have released a forensic artist’s sketch of the suspect in an attempted child abduction Aug. 17, in hopes that someone will recognize the man.
A quick-thinking nine-year-old escaped from her would-be kidnapper, police said, in an incident in the back lane of 10th Street Northwest in Portage la Prairie that morning.
Police said the victim told them an unknown man had approached from behind in the lane, tried to grab her and asked if she wanted to come home with him.
The girl was able to free herself from the situation by biting the man and running home, where police were called. She wasn’t physically harmed in the incident.
The man is described as around five feet three inches tall and 40 years old with blue or green eyes. Police said he had short white hair with a bald spot and a long, white beard. He was wearing a black zip-up hoodie, grey sweats and red shoes.
Anyone able to identify the suspect in the sketch, or with any other information about the incident, is asked to call Portage RCMP at 204-857-4445 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477, or submit a secure tip online at manitobacrimestoppers.com.