CINCINNATI -- FBI offices in Cleveland and Louisville are asking for help finding a serial child predator who's crept around the victims' homes while they slept.
So far, he's been linked to two cases in northeast Ohio. David Habich, supervisory special agent with the FBI's Louisville office, said the man may be from a surrounding state.
According to the FBI, the man abducted a 6-year-old girl from her Cleveland home early the morning of May 21. He held her for 17 hours, then dropped her off a few miles from her home later that night. She was alive, but she was not unharmed.
"We will not revictimize her by stating what he did to her," Cleveland Special Agent Vicki Anderson said in an email.
The man may be driving the Chevrolet Malibu with a differently-colored quarter panel. Image courtesy FBI.
The girl told authorities she rode on the front floorboard of his car for a long time as he took her to a residence somewhere. The girl said two people came inside and cooked chicken for the kidnapper. He told the girl to hide and keep quiet, so the FBI said it's likely the two people didn't know he'd kidnapped the girl.
Forensic evidence linked the same man to an attempted kidnapping in Elyria on Feb. 25, the FBI said. That home's security system showed someone opened several doors and windows the prior night, while the residents were asleep. At about 3:30 a.m. Feb. 25, the man put a ladder against the house, grabbed a 10-year-old girl's leg and tried to pull her out the window, the FBI said. She was able to wiggle away and get to her father. The home's security system showed someone tried to open multiple windows the night of the kidnapping attempt, the FBI said.
The man wore all black, with a black mask over the bottom of his face. He's believed to be driving a 1997 to 2003 Chevrolet Malibu with a driver's-side quarter panel that is a different color than the rest of the car.
The FBI shared surveillance video that shows a man believed to be the man during the Cleveland kidnapping:
What the video shows:
- On May 14, 2016, at about 2:33 a.m., and again at 3:50 a.m., a white male is seen in the vicinity of the home in the Cleveland incident. The suspect is seen looking at his phone.
- On May 15, 2016, at about 5 a.m., a white male is seen at the window of the home in the Cleveland incident, then runs back to his car and leaves the area.
- On May 21, 2016, at about 3:12 a.m., the suspect’s vehicle is seen near the corner of West 101st Street and West Boulevard. The suspect looks at his phone while waiting for a red light.
- On May 21, 2016, at about 3:21 a.m., the suspect is seen near the home in the Cleveland incident, then walks away from the home at about 3:28 a.m.
- On May 21, 2016, at about 4:18 a.m., the suspect is seen approaching the home in the Cleveland incident again, then departing carrying something (presumed to be the victim) at about 4:29 a.m.
The FBI is offering a reward of up to $20,000 to find the man.
Anyone with information about the man should contact their local FBI office or the nearest American embassy or consulate.
