UC Riverside attempted abductions: suspect sketches released

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KABC) -- University of California Police released a composite sketch of two attempted kidnapping suspects who approached women on the campus on Saturday.

UC Police detectives worked with two female UC Riverside students to make the sketches.

The two incidents occurred within hours of each other. Women were targeted walking to Lothian Residence Hall on Saturday. An email was sent to all students not long after the reports came in.

A female student walking toward Lothian Hall at 7:30 p.m. Saturday on Big Springs Road saw a four-door silver sedan blocking the sidewalk. The student told police a man got out of the car and ran toward her, getting close enough to touch her before she got away.

The suspect was described as an Asian man approximately 20-30 years old with black hair and an oval face, standing 5 feet 6 inches tall. He was last seen driving westbound on Big Springs toward East Campus Drive.

When word of what happened spread, another student came forward, saying something similar happened to her in the same location just about an hour earlier.

Police say that student reported seeing a man in a silver vehicle park, then retrieve something from the car trunk. She turned and found the man following her with a dark blue bandana, moving toward her as if trying to put it over her head. Police say the female, who had an open drink in her hand, tossed the drink at the suspect and ran away.

That suspect was described as a white man in his mid-20s with short blond hair, standing 5 feet 10 inches tall with a medium build, wearing blue jeans and driving a silver car with tinted windows.

If you have any information that could help this investigation, call (951) 827-5222.