CHULA VISTA, Calif. (KGTV) - Authorities are searching for a man suspected of trying to abduct a 16-year-old girl as she walked on the Southwestern College campus Tuesday.
School officials said the girl was taking a shortcut home near the college's H Street entrance at about 10:15 a.m. when a man driving a white pickup truck blocked her path. According to school officials, the man offered the student $200 to get into the vehicle, but she refused.
The man then drove away from the campus on eastbound H Street.
The student described the man as Hispanic and in his 30s, with a trimmed beard and mustache. He was wearing an orange construction vest, the student told authorities.
Surveillance video also revealed that the perpetrator, who remained unidentified and at large in the mid-afternoon, had been driving through parking areas at the college for about 15 minutes prior to the attempted abduction, Dave Nighswonger, acting chief of the Southwestern College Police Department, said.
Omar Orduno was working as a sign spinner at the corner of the exit from campus when the Blazer sped past him.
"Yeah, I saw him go this way, I don't know how fast. His tires were screeching, ya know," Orduno said.
Aryanna Galvan told 10News it was scary, “It makes me paranoid and anxious all the time because if I see a white van passing me, I get scared that's gonna happen."
School officials sent out an emergency alert warning to students and faculty members.
Southwestern College campus police and Chula Vista police officers are investigating the incident.
