Temple Terrace police searching for man accused of abducting, sexually assaulting 13-year-old girl
TEMPLE TERRACE, Fla. - Police in Temple Terrace are investigating after a missing teenager said she was abducted and sexually assaulted by a man on Monday evening.
What we know:
Police responded to a report of a missing 13-year-old around 6 p.m. at the Doral Oaks Apartments.
Shortly after 9:20 p.m., while officers were still on the scene, the teenager arrived back home and said that a man she met earlier that evening forced her into a vehicle, took her to an unknown location and sexually assaulted her before dropping her off near Doral Oaks.
Courtesy: Temple Terrace Police Department
The backstory:
Police said the teenager was with several other juveniles at the apartment complex when they were approached by an unidentified man in a grey or silver Nissan Altima.
Temple Terrace PD told FOX 13 the group included two teenagers and around three others, who were seven- to nine-years-old.
Investigators said the suspect asked the group if they’d be willing to buy him food from Burger King, which is about a half a mile from the apartment complex. The suspect reportedly said he’d give the group money for the food and then also pay them $20 on top of that.
"All the juveniles declined except for our victim, a 13-year-old female," deputy chief Chris Mills with the Temple Terrace Police Department told FOX 13.
The 13-year-old girl was seen on security footage at the Burger King located at 8755 N 56th Street.
According to TTPD, when the teen went back to the apartment complex, she met with the man and gave him the food from Burger King.
The teen told investigators that the man forced her into a vehicle and took off.
Officers who went to the scene around 6 p.m. searched for the missing teen but did not find her.
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Dig deeper:
The teen described the man as a slender white man with blonde or sandy-colored hair and a reddish beard. She said he told her his name was Brian or Ryan and claimed to be 19 years old.
Courtesy: Temple Terrace Police Department
She also told deputies that his vehicle was a gray four-door sedan.
Temple Terrace PD released surveillance video Tuesday, showing a Nissan Altima driving around the Doral Oaks apartment complex.
What's next:
Investigators are working to identify a suspect.
What they're saying:
"We'll take any tips that we can get at this moment because we need to get this guy off the street," Mills stated.
"Obviously, it's been quite a while where we had some (cases) that were like this, I would say, so brazen," Mills said. "I mean, where you abduct a juvenile and take her from the location and drop her off three hours later. I mean, obviously, we're trying to get this gentleman off the street as soon as possible because who knows what else he's capable of."
What you can do:
They are also asking parents to talk with their children about not interacting with people they don’t know and to report any suspicious activity immediately.
Anyone with additional information regarding this case is asked to contact the Temple Terrace Police Department at (813) 989-7110.
The Source: This article was written with a press release from the Temple Terrace Police Department.