Sixteen days after a man tried to abduct a three year old from a home on 10400 block of 3rd Ave. S.W. in unincorporated North Highline, another incident on the same block may be linked to the same suspect, according to the King County Sheriff’s Office.
On June 18, police said a man tried to enter the bedroom window where a one-year-old child was sleeping just after 10 p.m. The child’s mother had stepped out momentarily, but returned and saw man trying to push the window screen in. She screamed, and the suspect fled.
While several news organizations reported this incident as another abduction attempt, the Sheriff’s Office made it clear the evidence only pointed to what they could characterize as a burglary as no specific attempt to grab the child was made. There were, however, similarities in that the suspect targeted a room with a small child and may have been waiting for the mother to leave the room. He was also described as “tall and skinny,” just like the man in the June 2 attempt.
A relative in the home pursued the man, but lost his track. Shortly thereafter, deputies arrived and saw a red Mazda pickup fleeing the area. They pursued and tried to stop the vehicle and a female passenger jumped out. Deputies kept on the tail of the vehicle and the woman escaped. The driver of the pickup then crashed and fled. He was able to elude deputies, who later discovered the pickup was reported stolen in Seattle on May 31. It is not clear whether the suspect in the burglary attempt was the driver of the vehicle.
The suspect is described as “tall and skinny,” and was wearing a grey hoodie and tan shorts.
"The attempted child abduction from 2 weeks ago and the recent burglary "may or may not" be related," KCSO Sgt. Cindi West said. "Given the facts that within two weeks, on the same street, a man grabbed a child in a front yard and on the second incident a man tried to gain entry into a room (where a child was sleeping), we felt it important to alert the public in case the two are connected. We, of course, do not know if the two crimes are related.
"We also do not know yet if the stolen truck leaving the area is related or not, but since the deputy saw it in the neighborhood not long after the Burglary it is a possibility," West added. "We have released information hoping to get tips on who might have been driving the truck."
In the June 2 incident, Melissa Hines said she was having a foot race with her son in the backyard when she turned around and saw a tall, lanky man dressed in all black with her three year old in his arms. Hines chased after the man and he dropped her son. She jumped on her child for protection and had to endure a beating from the suspect while throwing her own punches as well. The man gave up and fled.
