Masked man attempted to kidnap Richland County girl from her home, police say

A Richland County girl narrowly escaped a kidnapping attempt from her home last week, according to the Richland County Sheriff’s Department.

Around 9 p.m. on Feb. 26, a 14-year-old went to let her dog out the back door of her Heron Glen Drive home when she was grabbed “from behind by her shirt,” according to an incident report. The unknown man, who was dressed in all black and wearing a mask, “pulled her around the house to the front yard,” police say.

A white, “older model panel van” driven by an unknown person was waiting nearby. But as the aggressor pulled the girl, who is not being identified because she is a minor, the dog bit the man and he let the girl go. Richland County Sheriff’s Deputy Chad Enzor reported to the scene and reported the girl’s shirt was “stretched a little in the collar.”

After the dog bit the man, the 14-year-old screamed, and got the attention of someone inside her house, who went outside and saw the man running toward the van, the incident report said.

The white van is described in the report as having no windows and a scratch on the left door. Two people told police they had seen the van in the neighborhood “over the past few days,” the report said. Heron Glen Drive is near Killian Road and I-77, near Killian Elementary School.

Anyone with video that may help deputies in their investigation of the incident is asked to contact Crimestoppers, according to WLTX.com. The number for Crimestoppers is 1-888-CRIME-SC (888-274-6372). The website is midlandscrimestoppers.com.

Correction, March 3, 2020: This story has been updated to report that the man who attempted to kidnap a 14-year-old girl in Richland County on Feb. 26 was not carrying a weapon. A previous version of this story was incorrect.

This story was originally published March 2, 2020 at 5:20 PM.