Police Release Sketch of Man Wanted in Attempted Kidnapping Incident

A composite sketch circulated Wednesday of a man who tried to kidnap a 13-year-old girl in Venice resembles that of a man who tried to abduct a 16-year-old girl in Torrance, Los Angeles police said.

The Venice crime occurred about 10:30 p.m. Nov. 2 at Lincoln Boulevard and Millwood Avenue. The man approached the girl and asked if she needed a ride, then grabbed her by the arm, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

He let her go when she kick him and the girl ran away. She said the man drove away in a white four-door sedan, according to police.

The suspect is described as white, 35-40 years old, 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighing about 150 pounds, with a receding hairline. A composite sketch of him resembles a man wanted by Torrance police for a child annoying incident last month, said LAPD Officer Bruce Borihanh of the LAPD's Media Relations office.

A vehicle description in the Torrance case is also similar to the one from the Venice attempted kidnapping, police said.

In the Torrance case, a 16-year-old girl was at Artesia and Crenshaw boulevards while on her way to North High School around 7 a.m. on Oct. 16 when a man drove up and ordered her to get in his car.

As the girl continued walking south on Crenshaw, the suspect drove up and blocked her path and again ordered the teen to get in the car, at one point offering to pay her, police said. She continued walking, soon meeting up with a friend, and did not see the suspect's last direction of travel.

Anyone with information about the suspect was urged to call LAPD Pacific area robbery detectives at (310) 482-6373, or (877) LAPD-247.

- City News Service