CLEARWATER POLICE RELEASE
UPDATED INFORMATION IN EFFORT TO LOCATE CHILD ABDUCTOR
Clearwater Police are making
a public appeal for anyone with information in a recent child
abduction case to notify them as soon as possible, according to
Clearwater Police Chief Sid Klein.
By way of background information
- The incident began when Clearwater Police responded to a 9-1-1
call of a reported abduction at approximately 6:30 p.m. on New
Years Eve. The abduction occurred in the Savannah Trace apartment
complex located at 2690 Drew Street in Clearwater. Focusing on
finding the child, a statewide broadcast was made to law enforcement
agencies and the media in efforts to locate the abducted child.
Clearwater Police received
a phone call from the Sumter County Sheriff's Office at approximately
4:30 a.m. on New Years Day advising that the five year old had
been found by a citizen near a dumpster near the intersection
of SR 48 and Interstate 75 in Sumter County, Florida some 80 miles
north of Clearwater. It is believed that the child was placed
into the dumpster by the suspect and was able to push the lid
open and crawl out. The citizen, Mr. Jerry Overshiner, told Sumter
County deputies that the boy was found on SR 48 yelling for help.
Mr. Overshiner took the boy to a local business and summoned the
Sumter County Sheriff's Office.
Police have released the following
updated suspect and vehicle description (UPDATED INFORMATION IS
UNDERLINED):
The suspect is described as a white male,
between 5'07" and 5'11" tall, thin build; with black, possibly
shoulder length hair. The suspect may have spoke with an
unknown accent. He was last seen wearing a black and white
jacket, dark blue jeans, and brown dress shoes.
The suspect vehicle is described as a
white pick-up truck with an extended cab. The truck had tinted
windows with a gray interior and was extremely dirty. The truck
also had either decals or stickers in either the rear window
or on the quarter panels that spelled "Stone Cold Steve Austin."
The truck may also have decals on the sides of ice cream
cones and possibly a decal of an ocean wave.
Police have determined that the suspect
and the youth stopped several times during the nearly 10-hour
ordeal between Clearwater and Bushnell. At one point the suspect
stopped and got himself something to drink, but nothing for the
victim. The victim has been unable to identify locations or directions
of travel. Sumter County deputies took numerous surveillance tapes
from various businesses around the area where the boy was found
and Clearwater Police detectives are continuing to review those
tapes, with the hopes of catching a glimpse of the suspect or
suspect vehicle.
The Clearwater Police Department is the
lead agency in this case and is working diligently with the Sumter
County Sheriff's Office and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
All agencies are working together in coordinating the search for
this suspect. Clearwater Police have activated their major case
tip line, and is asking the public to call 727-562-4422 or Crimestoppers
at 1-800-873-TIPS (8477) with any information on the whereabouts
of the suspect or the suspect vehicle.
For further information on this case, contact
Acting Public Information Officer Sergeant Doug Griffith at 727-562-4347.
/s/
SID KLEIN
Chief of Police