Parents Warned: 3 Girls Nearly Snatched

Parents are being warned about a man police say grabbed three young girls and tried to drag them into a van in the Midway area.

Students at Correia Middle School took a letter home to their parents Tuesday explaining what happened when the girls walked by the van Monday morning.

"As they looked in the van, it appeared that the male was probably masturbating," San Diego Unified Schools Police Sgt. Alfonso Contreras said.

After the girls passed by, the man got out of the van, and walked up behind them.

β€œHe grabbed two of the females by the wrist, and began to drag them back towards his vehicle.  At that point, they broke away and they ran towards the school," Sgt. Alfonso Contreras said.

The school sent the letter home to parents telling them to be on the lookout for an older model burgundy colored van with no side windows.

Police said the four girls did exactly what they should have, walked in a group.

"Good thing they were together, because how many times, in the evening, I see kids sitting here waiting for their rides alone," Parent Andrea Paniagua said.

The suspect is described as dark skinned, about 6-foot tall, thin and bald.

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