Police are investigating a reported child enticement in Fremont. Police Chief Jeff Elliott said parents reported the incident on the 2400 block of Westside Avenue around 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Justin Bittinger said his daughter and her cousin were walking from his home down the block to his sister-in-law’s when two men in a light brown 4-door car pulled up and started talking to the girls.
“At that time one of the guys jumped out of the vehicle, approached Eva, grabbed her, reached around her head, covered her eyes up and Jayden was hitting her, screaming, trying to do anything possible to get this guy off of her,” Bittinger said.
The girls ran away to safety inside a home. The family called police.
“It's sickening,” Bittinger said. “I don't think words can express the way I feel right now.”
He stood in his driveway watching over two of his children Wednesday night as a group of boys played football in an empty lot across the street. Bittinger described the neighborhood as a place where children bike to nearby elementary schools, and where they are constantly at play outside.
Police say the suspects are both men, one had “Orange” medium length hair and a beard. He was wearing a black jacket or hoodie and light blue jeans. The other man had short, dark hair and a beard. He was wearing a gray t-shirt.
Police caught up with a brown sedan immediately after the call. They questioned and let the driver go. Chief Elliott said this was the second reported child enticement in Fremont this month. He did not believe the cases were related.
Elliott urged parents to keep a closer eye on their children, and immediately call police if they notice suspicious circumstances.
“By the time you make the call, it gets to dispatch and gets to officers in the street, that can take several minutes, to 10-15 and the sooner we get there the sooner we got a chance,” Elliott said.
Nearby schools also sent letters to parents notifying them of the enticement case.
