Illegal Alien Arrested After 3 Possible Attempted Kidnappings 11/8/12

Shannon Murray
CBS 7 Reporter
smurray@cbs7.com
November 8, 2012

Andrews, TX - Police say a suspicious man made several attempts to kidnap kids in Andrews. The suspect was taken into custody today after what might have been his 3rd attempt to abduct kids around town.

“I thought it was safe because it’s a small town but you never know,” says parent Erika Sanchez.

This investigation is a joint effort between The Andrews Police Department and the Andrews County Sheriff’s Office. Both received calls this week of a suspicious man driving a white van and following kids.

"Everybody was on Facebook posting it, so it kind of got around really fast for everybody to watch out for it," says parent Angela Aubrey.

The first call came in to the sheriff's office on Sunday. That's when a boy noticed the van near his house and told his parents something wasn't right.

"A vehicle acting very suspicious out in a residential area," explains Sheriff Sam H. Jones.

The Police station got a similar call Wednesday about a man near Devonian Elementary.

"The initial call was a suspicious vehicle, some kids being confronted," claims Police Chief Bud Jones.

Then Thursday morning outside of Clearfork Elementary a man matching that same description approached a group of kids.

This time he didn't get away.

"The driver couldn't answer questions real good and he had some evasive answer," Chief Jones says.

The man was taken into custody for failure to identify himself and for being an illegal alien. Police confirm he has already been deported once before.

There are still many unanswered questions and now the sheriff's office and police are trying to figure out if he's the same person linked to all 3 suspicious incidents.

"It’s possible there could still be somebody else out there," says Sheriff Jones.

"I would have thought they would have notified the parents, to make sure kids don't walk home from school or something,” Aubrey says. “That's kind of weird in our small town for somebody to be trying to do that."

Andrews ISD says that all schools are aware of the situation and they are on alert until police can confirm that he was in fact the man responsible for all 3 incidents.