A man wearing a ski mask tried to abduct a 13-year-old girl in Bethel Township Monday morning, just as her school bus pulled up, causing the man to flee.
The Garnet Valley Middle School student was waiting for her bus at about 6:30 a.m. Monday at the corner of Trotters Lee Lane and Sulky Way. A white man wearing all black, with a ski mask covering his face, jumped out of the bushes with a knife and tried to take the girl with him, say police. The girl’s school bus pulled up and interrupted the abduction attempt.
"I was told that she turned around and saw the guy and the guy told her that if she moved, made a sound or tried to run that he would kill her," student Justin Thomas said.
The suspect ran away and the girl got on the school bus unharmed. She is now safe with her family, say police.
Garnet Valley School Superintendent Anthony Costello alerted district parents to the incident today, reassuring them that the girl was fine. All district bus drivers were given a description of the assailant and are equipped with two-way radios, Costello said in his letter.
Neighbors were shaken by the incident. "You got somebody creeping around the neighborhood...it gives you chills," said one neighbor.
Police are searching for the suspect and believe they have found his car. Anyone with information regarding this incident should contact the Bethel Township Police Department at 610.558.0929.
