Authorities are looking for a man who attempted to kidnap a teen from a Fort Lauderdale bus stop.
The attempted abduction happened on May 1 at the bus stop outside the Shell gas station at 2701 W. Sunrise Boulevard, the Broward Sheriff's Office said. The BSO said the man tried to grab an 18-year-old who was sitting at the bus stop.
“He could’ve took me. He could’ve killed me, raped me, all types of stuff,” the victim said. “He kept wanting me to come in his car. He said, ‘Oh I’ll drop you off at school,’ and I was like no.”
The man, who has gold teeth and tattoos, was driving a dark blue van with a ladder rack. The BSO said the man tried to stuff money down the shirt of the girl at one point. The near-kidnapping left the victim’s father, John Coward, shaken.
“I’m supposed to be there to protect my daughter and I wasn’t there,” Coward said. “That makes me feel like I didn’t do my job because I wasn’t there to protect her.”
Deputies handed out flyers of the suspect and his van Thursday.
Crime Stoppers is offering a $3,000 reward for information leading to an arrest. Anyone with info is asked to call 954-493-TIPS.
