Man tries to abduct 11-year-old Chicago girl walking home from school

Police released this photo of a van they say is similar to the one driven by a man who tried to abduct an 11-year-old girl Dec. 12 in the 11900 block of South Normal. | Chicago Police

SUN-TIMES MEDIA WIRE - Authorities are asking for the public’s help in the search for a man who tried to abduct an 11-year-old girl last month in the West Pullman neighborhood on the Far South Side.

The girl was walking home from school about 3:15 p.m. Dec. 12 in the 11900 block of South Normal when a man asked her several times to get into the white van he was driving, according to a community alert from Chicago Police. The girl said no and ran home to tell her parents about the incident.

The suspect was described as a black man about 40 years old with a caramel complexion and a partially graying goatee, police said. He was wearing a black jacket and a black hat and spoke with a Jamaican accent.

The van was described as a white work van with damage to the passenger door, police said. It had newer-model Illinois license plates.

Anyone with information about the suspect or the incident is asked to call Area South detectives at (312) 747-8271.