Greencastle teen says man grabbed her, forced her into his truck

A Greencastle teenager reported an attempted abduction while on her way to school Monday, City Police said.

The 15-year-old, who attends just half-days at the high school, was reportedly walking south along Meadow Drive, just east of the Greencastle Armory, when she reported being grabbed by an older white male with long, gray hair.

The incident reportedly occurred sometime between 11:45 a.m. and noon Monday, Capt. Randy Seipel told the Banner Graphic.

The girl said she was forced into a black pickup truck but was able to escape her abductor and run to a nearby home, where she called police.

The victim described the truck as being "at least 10 years old," Det. Seipel said.

The suspect was last seen driving away on Shadowlawn Avenue, he noted.

Anyone with information about the suspect or the suspect vehicle is urged to call central dispatch at 653-3155 (and push zero for the operator).

Det. Seipel said attempted abductions have been a rare occurrence locally.

The last incident the veteran detective could remember occurred several weeks ago but involved a young black male who apparently had tried to get a young woman to come over to his car.

However, police believe that incident was more of an ill-advised effort to try to pick up the girl than to abduct her, Seipel said.