The father of a 15-year-old who fought off a man during an attempted kidnapping in Encinitas Wednesday has a warning for other parents.
"Be aware. If you have a daughter, this is for real. These guys are coming into our neighborhood trying to snatch our kids," said the victim’s father, who does not wish to be identified.
The teenager was waxing her surfboard in her driveway around 5:30 p.m. in the 1600 block of Neptune Avenue when a man came up to her from behind and pinned her to the ground, according to the San Diego County Sheriff's Department.
The suspect tried to drag her toward a pickup truck, parked along Grandview Street, where another man was inside, deputies said.
The victim's father told NBC 7, the incident is a parent's nightmare. He said he was 200 miles away when he got the call from his daughter about the attack.
They had to get home by boat.
"My wife and I just felt so helpless. We had to get here by boat in the middle of the night. It was really rough. We couldn't get here any faster," the father said.
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Deputies released a composite sketch of one of the suspects Thursday.
"They didn't look like surfers. Something just did not sit right," said witness Chris Georggin said.
The attempted kidnapping happened in Georggin's driveway. As he was leaving the house before the attack, Georggin saw the accomplice and helped police compose the sketch.
He said the victim was a longtime friend.
"Everybody loves her. She is the sweetest, most caring person in the entire world," Georggin said.
"She knows what to look for. She knows how to get out of that situation. She fights. She is [a] full blown athlete," he said.
NBC 7 showed the composite sketch to neighbors and one woman said she thought she might have recognized the face.
Meanwhile, the father has a warning.
"We just have to send a message that we are not going to stand for this," he said.
Deputies said the attempted kidnapping appears to be an isolated incident.
The suspect who grabbed the victim appeared to be 5-feet, 10-inches tall with a skinny build. He looked about 20 to 30-years-old and was wearing board shorts.
The man waiting in the pickup truck also appeared to be between 20 to 30-years-old, about 5-feet, 11-inches tall with a medium build. The victim said he had brown hair and a long brown beard.
The two men left in a blue, older model pickup truck with a lifted suspension, metals racks, and possibly an extended cab.
Anyone with information about this case can call Crime Stoppers at (888)580-8477. If information helps lead to a felony arrest, you could be eligible for a $1,000 reward.
Ed. Note: The father was previously identified in this article. His name has been removed per his request.
A previous version of this article reported similar incidents have occurred with suspects fitting the description in this case. This is not accurate, according to San Diego County Sheriff's Department spokesperson Ryan Keim. We have corrected the article and regret the error.
