14-year-old girl narrowly escapes abduction at Pennsylvania mall

A brave 14-year-old girl narrowly escaped a brazen abduction attempt at a Pennsylvania mall, where she said a man grabbed her by the arm at the bottom of an escalator and tried to drag her away, as captured in a harrowing photo.

The would-be kidnapping took place at the Willow Grove Park Mall in Willow Grove north of Philadelphia around 7 p.m. Wednesday, according to the Abington Township Police Department.

Cops have launched a manhunt for two suspects, who may have tried to snatch another teen at the same mall earlier that evening.

“This was particularity disturbing, a crime like this,” Abington Township Police Chief Patrick Malloy told station NBC10. “This is one where your heart skips a beat.”

The 14-year-old who was able to get away told the police that she had become separated from a group of friends and was going down the escalator from the second level to the first, “when she was met at the bottom by an adult male.”

The stranger introduced himself to the teen as “Alex” and asked her to walk with him — “extending his arm, as if to escort her,” according to police.

The girl told the man that she was underage and tried to step away from the stranger.

“As the juvenile stepped away, the male grabbed her arm, placed it in his arm and restrained her, as he led her across the mall,” police said.

A chilling screenshot from a video released by the cops shows a grinning man seemingly twisting the victim’s arm while trying to lead her away against her will.

But before the suspect could march her out of the mall, the 14-year-old was able to wrench her arm from his grasp, scream and run away.

“Thank God she had the presence of mind to pull away, to scream, and we had other individuals that stepped in,” Malloy told news channel 6abc. 

Police said several good Samaritans who witnessed what happened intervened to stop the suspect from following the girl.

“Further investigation revealed that this male appeared to be working in concert with a second male. These males left the mall immediately after the juvenile fled,” according to investigators.

The duo was seen getting into a dark gray Dodge or Chrysler minivan or crossover vehicle, possibly a Dodge Journey.

Police told station Fox 29 that after their press release describing the attempted kidnapping was posted on social media, they were contacted by a mother claiming that her 14-year-old daughter had a similar encounter at the same mall.

According to Malloy, the parent said that a man who introduced himself as “Alex” came up to her child and handed her a piece of paper with a phone number on it. He then walked away.

The suspect who introduced himself as “Alex” was described as between 25 and 40 years old, with a goatee and short black braids. He was last seen wearing a white shirt with a large dark letter “C” on the back, light-colored pants with a dark stripe, dark shoes with a red marking on the inside toe of each shoe and light-colored laces.

He also wore a unique leather bracelet with a braided metal knot on his left wrist.

His alleged accomplice was described as a man in his 50s, with thick facial hair. He wore a dark blue T-shirt, blue jean shorts, and white-and-black sneakers. He had a pair of sunglasses tucked into his collar and a set of keys dangling from his front right pocket.

Anyone with information on the suspects is being urged to call the Abington Police Department at 267-536-1100.