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Photo: Police Name Suspect Accused Of Kidnapping 10-Year-Old Northridge Girl
Police have named one of two men that they suspect of kidnapping a 10-year-old Northridge girl from her home last Wednesday.
Police are asking for the public's help finding Tobias Dustin Summers, 30, who was named as a suspect. They said he has short blond hair, large tattoos of a flaming skeleton and a woman on his right arm, City News Service reports.
Police said that there's no indication that Summers had any connection to the girl he kidnapped or her family, according to KPCC. Summers was recently released from prison as part of the state's realignment program, according to NBC Los Angeles.
Police say the girl's mother heard a commotion around 3:40 am at their Northridge home, and when she went to check on her daughter, she was gone. A gate in the yard was left open. The girl turned up later in Woodlands Hills barefoot, bruised, cut up and traumatized.
The girl was previously identified and photos of her were circulated while she was missing. However, since she was found alive—and may be the victim of a sexual assault—media agencies are no longer reporting her name.
UPDATE 4:10 pm: The Los Angeles Times has more details about Summers background. He was released from jail on January 19 after serving time for violating his probation. He has a rap sheet that dates back to 2002 and including kidnapping, robbery, explosives possession and petty theft. He is not a registered sex offender.
So far police haven't found a connection between the 10-year-old's kidnapping and one of her relatives' kidnapping in 2008.
Related:
Police Probe Connection Between Northridge Abduction and 2008 Kidnappings
10-Year-Old Northridge Girl Abducted From Home, Held Captive Nearly 12 Hours