A 13-year-old girl was slapped in the face by a man during an attempted abduction in West Auckland yesterday.
The girl was walking along Glendale Rd near the intersection of Glengarry Rd at 3.30pm when a man in a silver vehicle pulled over to the side of the road in front of her.
He watched the girl walk past and then started to follow her, before stopping the vehicle again getting out.
He told the girl to get into his car and then the pair struggled and the man slapped her.
She managed to flee and ran towards a relative's house on West Coast Road.
The man continued to follow her in his car for quite some distance, along Glendale Road and West Coast Road.
"When the victim made it to her relative's house on West Coast Road, she has described seeing the car follow her down the driveway, but there were a number of vehicles parked outside the property and the man in the people-mover then reversed up the driveway and left," said Detective Derek Elima.
"At this point the victim realised her relative wasn't home, so began to make her way to Fruitvale Primary School. When she got back out onto West Coast Road the man was waiting and the victim has described him following her almost the entire way back to the school. Police were immediately called."
The 13 year-old girl suffered scratches to her face and arm and a sore neck.
A number of police officers were immediately sent into the area to carry out an area canvass and search for the man in the car, but he was not found.
Detectives have spent much of today gathering CCTV footage from the area.
At this stage no strong lines of enquiry have been established and police are hopeful that someone may have seen the incident take place.
"The victim is very upset and shaken," said Mr Elima.
"She's recovering at home and we are offering her and her family every support possible, including specialist interviewing staff who will speak with her more next week."
"What we need is for anyone who was in that area yesterday afternoon, around 3.30-4.30pm who may have seen something to get in touch. This area has quite a few shops and will have had a few people around at that time of the day."
Mr Elima said as the girl walked for quite some distance over a reasonable length of time in her efforts to flee to her relative's house - someone may have noticed something that didn't seem quite right.
"She was upset and in her school uniform. If you saw anything please get in touch," he said.
Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Derek Elima on 09 839 0600.
Information can also be given anonymously to the organisation Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
DESCRIPTION OF THE MAN IN THE CAR:
-Maori or Pacific Islander
-Aged around 30 years old
-Skinny build
-Short black hair
-No facial hair
-Wearing a black hoody and jeans
- The vehicle is described as a silver van/car, possibly a people mover, with tinted windows.
By Anna Leask of the New Zealand Herald
