Thwarted Kidnapper Still at Large, Solon Police Still Investigating

A 7-year-old Solon girl nearly abducted from a car Friday was able to thwart her attacker by brandishing a pair of scissors.

Detectives from the Solon Police Department are still searching for the man, described by the girl as a 5-foot-tall black man with a bushy mustache and wearing some sort of mask to conceal his face. 

"We want to catch this individual," said Lt. Bruce Felton, a police spokesman. "This is a very unusual incident in Solon."

Sometime after 2 p.m. Aug. 19, a woman called 911 and told dispatchers that a man had tried to abduct her granddaughter from her parked car in a parking lot behind her apartment at 33000 Aurora Road.

She had left the girl in her Toyota Avalanche while she ran inside to use the bathroom.

The girl told police the man first tried to open the door, but since it was locked he reached inside the open window to unlock the door. When he couldn't do that, he grabbed the girl by the arm and tried to drag her through the window.

The girl told police that there were a pair of scissors in the car and that she grabbed them in a threatening manner. The man then fled, running off toward the east. The girl was shaken, but not hurt.

Many Solon parents are concerned about the incident.

The Solon Early Childhood PTA is holding a meeting tonight at 6:30 p.m. at the . Felton said he will attend the meeting to talk about child safety and answer parents' questions.

Stay tuned to Solon Patch for more coverage of this case and coverage from tonight's meeting.