Texas man who allegedly tried, failed to kidnap teen jogger is arrested
A Texas man was taken into custody on Tuesday for the attempted kidnapping of a 15-year-old girl who managed to escape the ordeal that happened earlier this month, authorities said. (Brazoria County Sheriff's Office)
FOX News -- A Texas man was taken into custody on Tuesday for the attempted kidnapping of a 15-year-old girl who managed to escape the ordeal, authorities said.
Law enforcement learned that the teen had been out jogging on Dec. 2 when a person she described as a Hispanic male came near her, the Brazoria County Sheriff’s Office said on Facebook. The individual had been driving a tan, 4-door Chevrolet Silverado truck made in the early 2000s, authorities said.
The girl claimed that the male “stopped and got out of the truck and wrapped his arms around her,” prompting her to yell for help, authorities said. She managed to free herself after the pair crashed to the ground, after which he fled the scene in his vehicle, the sheriff’s office said.
On Dec. 5 investigators from the sheriff’s office went to the scene of the incident and while they were there, they spotted a vehicle that matched the one that had been described as the suspect’s, authorities said. When the driver – identified as suspect Steven Salazar – noticed the investigators, he allegedly tried to leave the area before being stopped by a sheriff’s office patrol unit, according to the post.
“Salazar fit the description given of the attempted abductor, however, he denied having any contact with the victim or any involvement with the incident,” the sheriff’s office said.
He was then arrested for reckless driving, and would also face a charge of evading arrest in a vehicle, the post said.
“Investigators were able to positively identify Steven Salazar as being the male that attempted to abduct the 15-year-old victim on Sunday, December 2,” the sheriff’s office said. “Investigators again interviewed Salazar and he gave several inconsistent stories about the incident.”
Salazar was at his home in Alvin, Texas on Dec. 11 when authorities arrived and took him into custody for attempted kidnapping, following which he was booked into the Brazoria County Jail on a $20,000 bond, the sheriff’s office said.
The Brazoria County Jail confirmed to Fox News that Salazar remained in custody on Thursday.
Authorities are continuing to investigate the incident, the post said.