Escondido police are looking for the public's help in identifying a person of interest who asked a 9-year-old child if he wanted to get into the bed of his pick up truck this past weekend.
Since the first report of the attempted child abduction on Sunday morning, parents have been reaching out to Escondido Police in search of more details.
The incident happened at approximately 9 a.m. on Saturday near the Youth Baseball Fields on the 3300 block of Bear Valley Parkway, near Kit Carson Park, Escondido Police confirmed.
Police said a young child was asked to get into the cab of a white truck. When he said no, the man offered him cake. The victim refused, according to Lt. Justin Murphy, and ran away.
The suspect did not follow the victim or make any attempt to pull him into the car, Murphy added.
Escondido PD Lt. Kevin Toth said the department is still investigating the report, but they have not been able to determine if they can call the report a valid attempted kidnapping case.
The Department may not have enough evidence to say for certain that the man was trying to kidnap the child, Toth said. They are not running out calling it an attempted kidnapping, he said, but the evidence is minimal at this point in the investigation.
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Parents in the area were concerned to learn about the reported attempted kidnapping.
Gerry Zamora, a parent with two children, said his kids have been playing at this park for ten years. In that time, he has never heard of anything like this happening.
"It’s scary, we have three kids and obviously there are so many kids here, so many parents and action happening here all day, it’s kinda scary," Zamora told NBC 7.
At this time, no sketches are available. The person of interest is described as a man in his 60s with gray hair and a mustache. He was last seen wearing a white shirt.
The car is described as a white Toyota Tacoma with a small extra cab, police said.
It is unclear whether there is surveillance footage.
Police want to hear from anyone who may know something. Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Damian Jackson at (760) 839-4932 or leave anonymous tip at 760-743-TIPS (8477).
"We take these types of cases very seriously," Toth said. "So anyone with information should call the tip line."
The Escondido Police Department hosts a kid's safety academy several times a year. The class, taught by retired Lieutenant Allen Owns, will take place this Saturday. Another class is scheduled for April. If you would like to sign up, call the Escondido Recreation Department.
