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Police Investigating Possible Kidnapping; Witnesses Saw Screaming Girl Being Dragged Up Hillside
Police in El Sereno are searching for a suspect and a victim in what appears to be a kidnapping that took place Monday night in a rugged hilly area.
Witnesses report seeing a screaming young woman or teen girl being dragged into the brush up the hillside at around 7:52 p.m. last night, according to Los Angeles Police Department spokesman Bruce Borihanh, reports City News Service. The location was determined to be Klamath Street, which dead ends at the base of a hill leading into Ascot Hills Park.
The victim is described as a very petite young woman or a girl between the ages of 13 and 16. She was seen being taken into the wooded area by a male Hispanic, aged 18 to 20.
The suspect is thought to have removed some of the victim's clothes before they disappeared into the brush. Leggings and tennis shoes were found by authorities near the abduction site; the LAPD brought in helicopters and bloodhounds to search the rugged terrain of over 350 acres.
Police say that they have not been notified of any reports of a missing female in the area.
The search was suspended at 11 p.m. last night, but resumed at daybreak and remains ongoing.
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