Jaded
Former Member
This happened in my neck of the woods. They still have not caught the man. The first offense took place two blocks from my home. Wheeling is across the river, and he grabbed the little girl and after he assaulted her brought her across the river to Ohio -- thus bringing the FBI into the mix because of crossing state lines.
Photo of suspect http://www.wtov9.com/2007/0223/11095688.jpg
Edited to add another article about the assault.
http://theintelligencer.net/news/articles.asp?articleID=16589Police Probe Ferry Offense
By GABE WELLS
WHEELING Police believe the man responsible for the abduction and sexual assault of a Wheeling girl is the same man who exposed himself Sunday to a Martins Ferry woman.
Martins Ferry Police Chief Barry Carpenter made the announcement Thursday at a news conference in Wheeling City Council Chambers. Wheeling police are seeking a suspect in Tuesdays abduction of a city girl, whose 12th birthday was Wednesday. Carpenter said a man matching the description of the suspect was involved in what may have been an abduction attempt at about 9 p.m. Sunday on Hughes Avenue in the south end of his city.
According to Carpenter, the man approached an 18-year-old woman as she returned to her home. He then asked her for directions, exposed himself to the woman and then began to masturbate, Carpenter said.
The woman turned and ran, and the suspect chased her for a distance before he got into a nearby truck and left the scene.
The truck also is similar in description to the vehicle used in Tuesdays abduction in Wheeling.
Wheeling Police Department Lt. Gary Gaus and FBI Supervisory Senior Resident Agent Mark Wheeler said the techniques are the same in both crimes.
In both cases, the suspect asked the victims for directions to an area location and then chased them after posing the question.
Also at the news conference, Gauss confirmed the young girl in Tuesdays abduction was sexually assaulted.
Wheeler then added that an FBI sketch artist currently is working with that victim to develop and release a rendering of the suspect.
That rendering may be released today, and an improved description of the vehicle is anticipated.
Wheeler, Gaus and Carpenter said the police presence already has been greatly increased in both cities.
And Wheeler is asking area parents to pay close attention to the whereabouts of their children.
Theres no need for hysteria, Wheeler said. There is a need for extra prudence.
The suspect is a heavyset or chubby white male who is believed to be in his mid-20s. He is about 5 feet 10 inches tall.
The suspected vehicle is full-size pickup truck that is medium-brown in color. It has a stripe on its side that gets darker in color down the length of the body. The truck may have an extended cab.
Anyone with information regarding the alleged abduction or the vehicle believed to have been involved is asked to contact the Wheeling Police Department at (304) 234-3664.
Photo of suspect http://www.wtov9.com/2007/0223/11095688.jpg
Edited to add another article about the assault.
Kidnapping, Rape Suspect Still at Large
By GABE WELLS and SHELLEY HANSON Staff Writers
WHEELING City police continue to scour the area for the vehicle used in the Tuesday abduction of a Wheeling girl. Two vehicles spotted today were not the targeted truck.
Wheeling Police Department Sgt. John Wroten said police saw a vehicle at about 8 a.m. today in Center Wheeling near a city water treatment plant that was similar to the brown, extended-cab truck used in the abduction, but that vehicle was quickly ruled out by police. Police also were advised at about 10:15 a.m. today of a vehicle similar to that description on Market Street, but that truck also was determined not to be the suspected vehicle.
The abduction took place Tuesday night in the area of the North Wheeling Convenient. City residents in the store on Wednesday traded bits of information about how the now 12-year-old girl was doing less than a day after she was kidnapped in an alley behind the store.
She was found in Bridgeport that same Tuesday night after being released by her kidnapper, who still is at large.
The residents said they hope she is doing well despite it all.
Police say a man forced the girl into his pickup truck around 8:40 p.m. Tuesday in the 400 block of Kenney Street between Main and Market streets. Wheeling police Sgt. John Wroten said the abductor, who was not wearing clothes, grabbed the girl from behind.
The victim was walking with a friend at the time of the abduction. The friend ran home and told her mother what happened. The friends mother called police. The abductor released the girl near Kirkwood Presbyterian Church on Bennett Street in Bridgeport.
Residents on Wednesday pointed to a dilapidated garage, which has a gaping hole in its side and is missing a front door, located in the alleyway behind the store. They believe the man hid and waited there for the girl and her friend to pass by. One resident noted many people, including children, often use the alleyway as a shortcut. The girl, the resident said, felt safe using the alley because she knows nearly every resident who lives along it.
North Wheeling resident Amber Kennen, 17, said she wanted to wish the little girl well.
I hope she doesnt keep the pain on herself for the rest of her life, Kennen said.
Kennens friend, Maggie Lufft, 16, said she, too, hopes the girl is recovering.
I feel really bad for her. I hope she does good, Lufft said.
Resident Peggy Marsh said she worries about children being out when its dark, particularly if they are traveling in alleyways.
I think an 11-year-old should be in before 8 oclock, especially in that area. There is a lot of drugs in that area, she said.
Some residents said they had noticed the mans vehicle parked in the neighborhood in the past. Police describe it as a full-sized pickup truck, dark-colored, possibly medium-brown, with a stripe that gets darker in color toward the rear. It may have an extended cab.
Wheeling police Chief Kevin Gessler held a news conference Wednesday regarding the matter. He said he was relieved to learn the child was alive. He hopes surveillance footage from businesses in the area will be helpful in the investigation.
I was relieved with the fact that she was still living and breathing, Gessler said. We want this guy, and we want him bad.
After being released from the vehicle, the girl ran to the 207 Bennett St. residence of Laura Baker. The woman said the young girl was trembling with fear.
My husband and I were watching TV, and we heard a loud bang on the door, Baker said. He answered, and there was this tiny 11-year-old crying that she had been raped. We didnt know. We thought she lived in the neighborhood and just went running to a house. She said he grabbed her, threw his hand over her mouth, and if she didnt do what he said he would hurt her.
She said her underwear, socks and sweater were still in the truck, Baker added. She pulled up her pant leg to show me that she didnt have her socks on. They (police) came here and talked to her. All she wanted was her mother. She had no idea where she was dropped off. She didnt know where she was. She ran to the first house with a light.
Gessler said his department has received 15 leads in the case, and Wroten said witnesses have come forward with information. Wroten believes the suspect is from the local area, but he does not believe the suspect knew the victim. Wroten is confident the suspect will be found.
We have a lot of leads, and we are following every one of them, Wroten said. I dont believe he just stumbled in. He seemed to be familiar with North Wheeling and the Bridgeport area. He has at least some familiarity ... He asked a few questions that led us to believe he didnt know who she was.
This type of crime is unusual for our area, he added. No one saw the (license) plate, but we have multiple calls on that type of vehicle.
Because the girl was transported across state lines, the Federal Bureau of Investigation also is involved in the case. Wroten met Wednesday with officials from that agency. The suspect is a heavyset or chubby white male who is believed to be in his mid-20s. He is about 5 feet, 10 inches tall.
Anyone with information regarding the alleged abduction or the vehicle should call the Wheeling Police Department at (304) 234-3664.