PORTLAND, Ore. — Portland police have asked the public to be on the lookout for a man who reportedly tried to kidnap a woman at gunpoint in the South Tabor neighborhood on Thursday morning.
Just before 4:30 a.m., officers from the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) responded to a report of an attempted kidnapping near the intersection of Southeast 70th Avenue and Southeast Woodward Street. They arrived to find the victim hiding in a bush nearby.
The 42-year-old woman said that she was out jogging when she was approached by a man in a car who asked her for directions. The man then pulled a handgun and demanded that she get in his car, according to the report.
The woman didn't comply with the suspect and ran away, while the man apparently drove off. PPB said that the woman had not been physically hurt. Officers searched the area for the suspect, but did not find him.
Authorities gave a general description of a man in his 30s or 40s, with a close-trimmed beard, possibly wearing glasses. The victim said that he was soft-spoken — possibly done on purpose, the victim thought, so that she would be drawn in closer.
The suspect was driving an "older model" light green Subaru Outback wagon.
PPB said that detectives are investigating the incident and have requested that anyone with surveillance cameras in the area check on their footage from around that time to see if the suspect appears. Police theorized that he may have been circling the nearby blocks before pulling up to the victim.
Anyone with information about the incident or the suspect is asked to contact police at crimetips@portlandoregon.gov and reference case number 22-153618.
