Kalispell police probe reported kidnap attempt

The Daily Inter Lake

Kalispell police are investigating a report of an attempted abduction.

A 19-year-old woman said a man tried to kidnap her as she entered her vehicle at about 10:30 p.m. Tuesday on the south end of Fifth Avenue East.

She said he placed his hand over her mouth and tried to drag her from the vehicle.

She told police she peeled his hand from her mouth and screamed for help. The man fled, she said. The woman was not seriously hurt.

Detective Jim Wardensky said information about the man is limited. The woman told officers he is about 6 feet tall and was wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt and jeans.

She had noticed him standing near a fence as she walked to her car, she said.

Anyone with information should call Kalispell police at 758-7780 or Crimestoppers at 752-8477.

Wardnesky said the man's description sounds similar to that of a man who grabbed a woman in the same area about a year ago.

In that case, the victim described her assailant as about 6 feet tall and between 175 and 200 pounds. He was in his 20s and also wore a dark sweatshirt, Wardensky said.