A man tried and failed to abduct a child near 2400 N. Damen Avenue in Bucktown on Thursday, and minutes later, police say, he abandoned a white box van and stole a woman's SUV at a nearby car wash. Officers who responded said they had the child with them, and detectives spent several hours at the scene gathering evidence before leaving without announcing an arrest.
According to FOX 32 Chicago, the Chicago Police Department confirmed a man attempted to abduct a child near Damen Avenue, but officers described the attempt as unsuccessful. The outlet reports that one officer indicated a woman believed the incident was an attempted carjacking while she was trying to get her children out of a vehicle, and that police scanner audio captured chatter in the moments immediately following the attempted abduction.
Van Abandoned, SUV Stolen at Car Wash
Police say the man then drove to the $5 Fullerton Express Car Wash on Fullerton Avenue, where surveillance video captured him abandoning the white box van and stealing another vehicle. A woman was vacuuming her white SUV when the man got into the driver's seat and drove off, and she appeared to try to stop the SUV as it left the car wash, per the same surveillance footage reviewed by the station.
The abandoned van did not appear to have license plates, the report notes. Detectives remained at the scene for several hours gathering evidence and speaking with witnesses, but as of the station's report, police had not announced an arrest, and it remained unclear whether the stolen SUV had been recovered.
Other Attempted Kidnappings in the Area This Year
Thursday's incident is not the only attempted child abduction reported in the Bucktown area this year. In April, 28-year-old Elijah Peaches was charged with attempted kidnapping of a child and unlawful restraint after prosecutors said he picked up an 8-year-old boy at Walsh Park and tried to walk away with him, according to CWBChicago. A bystander reportedly heard Peaches tell the boy, “You're going to learn today,” as he carried him several feet from where he had been playing, before a 50-year-old woman confronted Peaches and pulled the child away from him during a brief struggle. Witnesses called 911 and followed Peaches until officers took him into custody at Marshfield and Wabansia Avenues.
In September, prosecutors charged 39-year-old Patrick Goldman of Norridge with attempting to kidnap a 15-year-old girl at a Northwest Side bus stop, CWBChicago reported separately. The girl was waiting for a bus in the 6400 block of West Irving Park Road around 4:20 p.m. when Goldman allegedly repeatedly asked her to get into his black SUV; he was charged with attempted kidnapping by deceit or enticement.
No arrest has been announced in Thursday's Bucktown case, and the suspect's identity, the child's condition, and the stolen SUV's recovery status all remain unclear. Hoodline will update this story as Chicago police release additional information.
