MURFREESBORO, Tenn.- A 16-year-old girl in Murfreesboro said she's
living in fear after a stranger tried to pull her into a van, and she barely
escaped.
Riverdale High School Senior Marie Rouse told police that she was walking
along West Main Street just off the Murfreesboro Square Tuesday night when a
man in a white van pulled up next to her.
"The guy stopped me and asked if I needed a ride. And I said that I
didn't," she said. "Then he
said I know you, and I asked him how he knew me."
Rouse said then the man moved toward and tried to pull her into the van.
"He grabbed me by my arm and pulled me in the van," Rouse
explained.
Rouse says she managed to pull away. She then jumped back on the sidewalk,
turned and ran nearly a mile all the way back home.
"I was really scared and just wanted to get home," she said.
Rouse and her mother called 911. Rouse also told her mother, who is hearing
impaired about how her attacker said he knew where she lived. She told police
that she had never seen the man before, but was able to give officers a good
description of the suspect.
Rouse told police that the man was white and in his early 20s, with brown
hair and a muscular build. He was wearing dark sunglasses and driving a
windowless white work van.
Kyle Evans with the Murfreesboro Police said they are taking the case
seriously. Officials have placed extra patrols around the area where the
incident occurred.
Rouse, who plans to pursue a modeling career after high school, still
worries her attacker may try to strike again.
"He says he knew where I lived. He said he knew all about me. I don't
know how he knows all about me," she said.
Police hope some witnesses come forward with more information.
Marie Rouse said she was walking along West Main Street Tuesday night when a man in a white van pulled up next to her tried to pull her into the van.
