FBI and Cleveland Police Ask for Public’s Help in Identifying Suspect in Child Abduction
The Federal Bureau of Investigation Cleveland Division, along with the Cleveland Division of Police, continues to investigate the abduction of a 6-year-old girl that occurred on Saturday, May 21, 2016 at approximately 4:30 a.m. in the 3000 Block of West 104th Street. The child was kept by her abductor for approximately 17 hours before being dropped off in the area of West 104th Street and Lyric Avenue.
Today, we make a plea to the community for help in identifying an unknown suspect. We have critical information to get out to the public, information that is very specific, and we hope will lead to an arrest in this case.
We know that the 6-year-old victim in this case was taken from her home in the early morning hours of Saturday, May 21. The victim in this case is a brave young lady, and she has provided our investigators with important information that we feel will help to identify her abductor.
Please understand that we are still in the early stages of the investigation and that we will be releasing additional information when it is appropriate to do so. Our public information officers will keep you apprised of any updates that become available.
We in law enforcement often rely on tips from the public to put the pieces together.
The following is information obtained from the victim relative to the abduction. Much of the information is very unique and specific, and we hope that this will lead to the suspect being identified and subsequently taken into custody:
* The suspect is described as a white male with light brown hair and a neatly trimmed beard, approximately 5’10" tall. The suspect had a least one tattoo and was wearing a red or maroon hoodie. The suspect may have been seen in the area of the abduction, West 104th and Western Avenue, a week prior to the abduction.
* The victim described the house she was taken to and kept for several hours on Saturday. She describes the house as a brick house with a white door and black front porch railings. The suspect arrived early at the residence, approximately 5:00 a.m., likely spent the entire day in a room in the residence, and left the residence on Saturday evening.
* The victim described some type of mural/wallpaper/picture on a bedroom wall that contains moose or deer with grass and trees.
* Our victim advised a black man and a brown woman were also located in the residence where she was taken. However, the victim was likely concealed when she was taken into and from the residence and she does not believe these adults saw her. According to our victim’s recollection, the woman was cooking on Saturday and knocked on the bedroom door telling her abductor that she was cooking. The 6-year-old was told to hide while the suspect was interacting with the other adults in the residence.
* We believe it is very likely these adults, again described as a black male and brown female, in a residence with a white male possibly with a beard, have no knowledge of the victim being in the bedroom. We are asking these two individuals, or anyone that knows a brick home with a white door and black railings where three people reside that fit this description, to please call immediately.
* Along with the black male and brown female, the victim also described two dogs, one white and one brown, located in the residence where she was held.
* We also want to speak to anyone located in the vicinity of West 104th and Western Avenue on Saturday morning between 3:30 and 4:30 a.m. as well as individuals in the vicinity of Lorain and West 140th around 9:15 p.m. on Saturday night. If you were driving or walking, in those areas around those specified times please call.
“This is not the time to hesitate," said Stephen Anthony, FBI special agent in charge.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation has dedicated a tip line specifically to this case. Anyone with information is asked to call 216-622-6842.
Any questions regarding this news release can be directed to SA Vicki D Anderson at the Cleveland Office of the FBI, 216-522-1400 or Vicki.Anderson@ic.fbi.gov.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
