Published: July 07, 2008 11:00 pm         

Search still going for suspect in attempted abduction

TERRE HAUTE — Indiana State Police were still searching late Monday for a suspect in a reported attempted abduction Sunday at the Garden Quarter apartment complex in southern Vigo County.

Sgt. Joe Watts confirmed Monday police detectives recovered a stun gun believed used by the attacker as well as the knife a 22-year-old female told police she used in self-defense to stab her assailant. She described him as a while male, mid- to late-20s, about 5 feet, 10 inches tall, weighing about 210 pounds.

In addition, Watts confirmed that police have some samples of blood, from small spots of blood left in the woman’s vehicle.

Police will send the stun gun, knife and blood to a state lab for processing in hopes of finding fingerprints or DNA results, Watts said. The knife used by the woman is a military-looking, blue-steel knife about 9 inches overall, with a blade 6 to 7 inches long. An adult can legally own a stun gun, but it is illegal to use one in the commission of a crime, Watts said.

Police also are searching for vehicles that match the description of a blue Mitsubishi “Spyder or Eclipse” convertible the assailant parked next to the woman. It was described as having a black top and temporary paper plate in the rear window

The woman told police the assailant opened her driver’s side door in the parking lot, applied a stun gun to her back repeatedly and tried to remove her from the vehicle, but could not because the woman’s seat belt was latched.

The assailant then climbed into the rear of the woman’s vehicle and began choking her as he ordered her to drive away. The woman, who told the Tribune-Star she was an Iraqi war veteran, grabbed a knife kept near the driver’s seat and stabbed the assailant several times, on the right and left hands, right leg and possibly his abdomen.

The woman stopped her car on the east side of Carlisle Street about 150 feet south of Jessica Drive, which is about one to two blocks from the original attack. While the woman stepped out of the vehicle and stopped a passing motorist for help, the assailant fled south on foot back to his car in the Garden Quarter, police report.

“For being about 5 p.m. in the afternoon, we had hoped more people would have been outside, but we don’t have a lot of witnesses,” Watts said. “We have no suspect yet and no arrests are pending.”

Watts said the small amount of blood found in the vehicle suggests knife wounds may not be deep and could be mended without much medical attention.

“We put all the area hospitals in Illinois close to us and in Indiana on alert, but so far, nothing,” Watts said. “We did get tips overnight [Sunday], but it doesn’t look like it will lead to much. We had tips that put us at a couple of residences and a hotel in Terre Haute, but none of those panned out. People who called said they would like us to check something out that may be connected. They were very vague tips, but we still want people to call us,” Watts said.

Call State Police at (812) 299-1151 or 299-1152.

It was the first time the Vigo County Sheriff’s Department used a emergency calling system to send out a countywide notice involving a criminal incident, said Jake Compton, chief deputy sheriff.

“I was told that [State Police] still thought the suspect was in the area at the time, so I authorized the call,” Compton said.

Watts said if people are familiar with an area and “something does not look right, give us a call and we will come and check it out. Don’t wait until a crime might occur or has occurred. If it is suspicious, that is our job to check suspicious vehicles and suspicious people.”

Howard Greninger can be reached at (812) 231-4204 or howard.greninger@tribstar.com.

     

Add a comment on this story