SEATTLE — Seattle police have arrested a man they say lured a teen girl off a bus before dragging her into the woods to assault her.
Around 9 a.m. on Monday, police responded to 911 calls of people seeing the man trying to drag the girl into the woods in the Northgate neighborhood, off NE 103rd St. and 5th Ave. NE.
When they arrived on scene, they found the teen victim with minor injuries. The suspect ran off before police arrived.
Detectives in the Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Unit (SAU) arrived to process the scene, interview witnesses, and collect evidence.
The teen was treated on scene and taken to Seattle Children’s Hospital for an evaluation.
Just before 11 a.m., police found the suspect near Aurora Ave. N and N. 115th St. and arrested him.
The 35-year-old has multiple warrants for his arrest out of Snohomish County and Puyallup Municipal Court.
He was booked into King County Jail for investigation of rape and kidnapping.
“Today’s incident is unacceptable. Our children should be able to travel safely and enjoy their youth without fear. As a community, we need to fully support our victims now and in the future. We need to prosecute those responsible for stealing our most vulnerable people’s sense of safety, and work together to stop this from happening again,” said Chief Shon Barnes. “To victims of sexual assault, this City is here to support you. Please know that there are resources available at https://seekthenspeakseattle.com/ or the King County Sexual Assault Resource Center.”