CHICAGO — Two women fought off men who tried to kidnap them just a mile apart on Sunday night, police said. It's not immediately clear if the cases are connected, although the descriptions of the kidnapper in each case are similar.
One of the attempted kidnappings happened 7:40 p.m. in the 200 block of West 19th Street in Chinatown, according to a Chicago Police community alert. A 62-year-old woman was waiting on the sidewalk when a man parked near her and opened his front passenger door.
The man then got out of his car, walked up to the woman from behind, covered her mouth with his hand and pushed her toward the open car door, police said.
The woman screamed for help and was able to fight off the man, police said. The man let go of the woman and drove west on 19th Street and then south on Wells Street.
The man was described as a white or Latino man who was 20-30 years old, 6 feet to 6-foot-2 and thin, police said. He had short, dark hair, a round face and was clean-shaven. He drove a tan or beige, four-door car. The last four digits of the car's license plate were possibly 7110, police said.
Just minutes later, there was another attempted kidnapping at 7:55 p.m. in the 1000 block of West 18th Street in Pilsen. A woman, 29, was walking on the sidewalk when a man came up to her from behind and grabbed her, according to a Chicago Police community alert.
The man hit the woman in her stomach and covered her mouth with his hand, police said. He then picked her up and tried to carry her toward a car he had parked on the street.
The woman screamed for help and fought off the man, police said. Two people saw the struggle and, as they tried to intervene, the man dropped the woman and ran to the car.
The man drove off in the car, going west on 18th Street. He was described as a white or Latino man who was 20-30 years old, 5-foot-7 to 6 feet and thin, police said. He had short, dark hair and wore a gray shirt. He drove a four-door, light-colored car.
Police said they had not yet been able to confirm if the attempted kidnappings were connected.
Anyone with information about the attempted kidnappings was asked to call police at 312-747-8380.
