Police Ask for Public's Help in McLean District 'Abduction' Case

Fairfax County police are asking for the public's help in an abduction case in the McLean Police District.

A 48-year-old woman was walking on the sidewalk in the 2900 block of Annandale Road near Falls Church at about 8:30 p.m. Wednesday when an unknown man approached her, according to police.

The man pulled the woman off the sidewalk and threatened her. Another man approached, at which point the attacker pushed the woman to the ground and ran away. The woman ran home and called police.

"It's actually an abduction," Master Police Officer Eddy Azcarate told Patch. "When you take somebody and move them off the sidewalk against their will, that is a form of abduction. I could stand in front of a door and say, 'You can't leave this room,' and technically that's abduction."

He continued: "The part that makes this interesting is that nothing else happened, really. He threatened her, and pulled her off the sidewalk… We don't know what his intention was, so there's no additional crime."

Police believe the second man may have inadvertently prevented a further attack. The woman sustained minor injuries.

"The reason we put this out is, we've been looking for leads over the last couple of days, and we don't really have anything valuable at this point, so we really need help on this," Azcarate said. "If anybody has any information, please give us a call. We're hoping somebody saw something — whether it was the victim running down the street, or someone suspicious in their neighborhood. Something."

The only description police have of the attacker is that it was a male with a Spanish accent.

Investigators are asking anyone with information to contact Crime Solvers by calling 866-411-8477, visiting www.fairfaxcrimesolvers.org and sending an anonymous email, or texting “TIP187” plus your message to CRIMES (274637), or contact Fairfax County police directly at 703-691-2131.