Cortland police seek man in abduction case

Cortland police seek man in abduction case

CORTLAND

Police are asking the public to be alert to any suspicious activity and report it to police in light of an abduction of a 16-year-old girl from her apartment Monday evening.

The girl, who said she didn’t know her attacker, escaped at about 5:45 p.m.

The girl said a man 20 to 30 years old came to her apartment around 5:30 p.m. and abducted her at gunpoint, forcing her into his car and drove her through part of town.

The girl, who lives on Maplewood Drive, attempted to escape from the car at Natale Drive near Lakeview High School, about a mile away, but the suspect got out and put her back in the car, Cortland police said.

She then escaped a second time, this time for good, at Deer Creek Trail, another mile or so away, police said.

The man was driving a small maroon or red four-door car with dark interior, the girl said. He was described as having a skinny build and 5-foot-8 to 5-foot-10.

Officer David Morris of the Cortland Police Department said investigators are following up “everything we have” but have not made an arrest.

“I think [people] need to be alert to their surroundings,” Cortland police officer David Morris said regarding the public’s role in response to the crime.

“I think they need to quickly report suspicious vehicles, people and incidents to the police. Something insignificant in their eyes may be very significant in our eyes,” he said.

The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation used details from the girl and drew a sketch of the suspect. Anyone with information about the crime or the suspect is asked to call Cortland police through the county dispatch center at 330-675-2730.