Suspects Sought In Attempted Abduction

Thursday, April 26th 2007, 8:10 am

By: News On 6

A middle school student is nearly abducted from her school bus stop, but police say she was smart, and it probably saved her life. It happened near the 9200 block of East 96th Street in south Tulsa. The 13-year-old is safe at home Thursday evening, and the News On 6â€™s Carina Sonn reports even though the situation was undoubtedly a scary one, police say it could have been much worse.

At around 7:30 Thursday morning, police say a 13-year-old girl was waiting to catch her school bus to Union 6th and 7th Grade Center, but she missed it. That's when two men drove up to the bus stop in a south Tulsa neighborhood and forced her into their SUV.

â€œShe mentioned that there was a lot of screaming, yelling, obviously she was fighting the whole time,â€ said Tulsa Police Officer Jason Willingham. â€œShe was trying to gain the attention of people passing by, and they were trying to stop her from causing a commotion."

Fortunately the suspects didn't get very far. Police say the girl was kicking and screaming until the men brought her to an intersection, not even a mile from where she was taken.

The girl went to the Forest Park Christian Church and used her cell phone to call for help.

"She had been told 'this is what you do in a situation if this ever occurs.' She remembered that. She played it out. She did exactly as she should have, and she's probably alive and back home today because of that," said Willingham.

Union superintendent Dr. Cathy Burden says she's very concerned.

"Very, very scary event, and as a parent and as an educator, we are more concerned about safety for our children than anything," said Burden.

The girl gave police a very good description of the men and the SUV they were driving. She told police the driver was a heavy set white male in his 40s. He has black hair, light freckles and a neatly trimmed beard. The passenger was a 30-year-old white male, skinny, with dirty blond hair and a light mustache. They were both wearing black jogging suits. She also told officers the men were driving a late 90's model black Jeep Cherokee with a cracked windshield and dark interior.

Police say the intersection of 91st and Mingo is a very busy one. They believe someone must have seen who these men were. If you have any information that could help police find the suspects, please call Crimestoppers at 596-COPS.

The Union superintendent sent a letter home with every student Thursday. It asks parents to talk with their children and remind them to be aware of surroundings and walk with others when possible. Parents were also notified about the incident through a taped phone message.

Watch The Video: Teenager Gets Away From Attempted Abductors