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In Identifying Male
Suspect In Abduction Attempt At Dunes State Park In Chesterton
Please look at this picture closely and call the
DNR Law
Enforcement Office with any tips.
219-879-5710
Can you Identify This Man??
Head View Of Suspect
Please Note The Unusual Watch
Or Wristband
He is Wearing
BY BOB KASARDA Times Staff Writer
Posted on Thursday, July 18, 2002
CHESTERTON -- Police have released a photograph of a man they believe
attacked three young girls Tuesday afternoon at the Indiana Dunes State Park.
The man appeared on the edge of a photograph taken by the sister of one of
the girls attacked, said Bob Cauffman, conservation officer with the Indiana
Department of Natural Resources. Cauffman worked with state police Wednesday to enhance the image before
distributing it to the media in hopes it will help to identify and locate the
man. The attacks occurred shortly after 1 p.m. just east of the bathhouse, said
the mother of two 11-year-old girls targeted in the attacks.
The Hobart woman, who asked not to be identified, said her daughters had run
up the dune while playing with two other girls and spotted the man along the
way. They said hello, she said, but the man did not respond until coming up
behind them a few minutes later.
"He told the girls to sit down and if they didn't sit down, he was going to
hurt them," she said. The man proceeded to push one of the girls down on the sand and hold her
feet, her mother said. He also knocked down the second girl and attempted to
hold her with his own feet, but she broke free and screamed as she ran away.
The man kicked the first girl in the thigh as she struggled to break free,
yet he quickly gave up and ran away from the scene, "They came running down in sheer terror," the mother said. The entrance to the park was closed following the attack, but the mother said
it was not done soon enough to prevent the man from escaping. One witness believes she saw the man near a red vehicle, but it is not clear
whether he used it to flee, Cauffman said. The park entrance was closed for about five minutes in response to a report
of a couple girls missing, he said. It was reopened when the girls were located,
he said, but cars were checked for the next several hours as visitors left the
park. Security at the park remains high, he said. A crudely built structure, dug out under tree roots, was discovered in the
area of the attack, Cauffman said. It is not known if it was associated with the
attacker. The man responsible for the attacks was described by Cauffman as being
between the ages of 50 and 60, between 5 feet 8 inches and 6 feet 3 inches in
height, and weighing between 200 and 225 pounds. He has grayish hair, and was
wearing blue jean shorts, sunglasses and either a shirt or towel around his neck
at the time of the attack. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the DNR offices in Michigan
City at (219) 879-5710. Whether the man is caught or not, the Hobart mother said her days of taking
her children to the beach are over and she does not plan to let them out of her
sight. "Until I get trust, it will be me and them all the time," she said. Other than a bruise from being kicked, the mother and Cauffman said the three
girls suffered no physical injuries from the attacks. But the incident has left
a mark, the mother said. "It's something they will never get over," she said.
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