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Police continue to search for man who grabbed teen outside tanning salon

Posted at 6:46 PM, Apr 12, 2012
and last updated 2012-04-12 21:30:33-04

CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. (WTVR) -  Police are investigating an attempted abduction outside a Chesterfield tanning salon, according to Chesterfield Police spokeswoman Elizabeth Caroon.

“We’ve been in business for 25 years, and I’ve been here for 12,” said Kathy McMurray, owner of Sea Breeze Tanning Salon in the 2600 block of Amherst Ridge Lane in Chesterfield.

And in those 12 years, McMurray said there's never been a crime on her property—and certainly not like the one that happened Wednesday night

Police said that around 9 p.m., a 17-year-old female customer was walking to her car in the tanning salon’s parking lot when a man jumped out of the bushes, grabbed her arm and tried to pull her away from her car.

“So, she tore out of the parking lot and called me on the phone and said someone's hiding in the bushes, you need to go out there, “said McMurray.

McMurray said she called police, then stepped outside and saw the man. When she went back in to get her keys, she said the man disappeared.

She also called Paul Carter, president of the Amherst neighborhood association. He joined in the search.  At that point, witnesses said they had already seen the suspect driving white pick-up in the neighborhood located right behind the salon.

Resident Kathryn Mann said she saw the truck, right in front of her house after the incident.

“It was sitting there rumbling, it backed up, turned around, then left," she said.

She also told CBS 6 that her fiancée saw a female in the pick-up truck along with the suspect.

Police describe the suspect as in his 20′s with either acne or freckles on his cheeks and the bridge of his nose.

His eyebrows appeared light in color and he was clean shaven.

He is about 5’10″ with a large, muscular build and dark hazel or brown eyes.  T

The would-be abductor is said to have left in a medium gray, older model pickup with custom pipes and a “Cowboy Up” decal.