Attempted abduction reported in Rathdrum

RATHDRUM — A passenger inside an older two-tone Ford pickup, possibly brown or tan, attempted to abduct a 16-year-old Rathdrum boy after work on Wednesday night, according to Rathdrum Police. 

The teen was walking home from work eastbound on Highway 53 near Lakeland High around 11 p.m. when the passenger described as a white male in his 40s with a thin build and short dark hair reached out of the pickup and grabbed the victim's jacket sleeve, according to police. 

"The victim reported that he struck the suspect's hand causing the suspect to release hold of the sleeve and then the pickup drove away eastbound on Highway 53," Rathdrum Police Chief Kevin Fuhr said. 

The boy's mother, Melinda Sizemore, posted on Facebook that her son was near the school's west entrance. The truck — lighter on top and darker on the bottom — pulled up behind him.

"He fought back and got loose," she said of her son. "Please beware and keep an eye out to find the guys."

Fuhr declined to say where the boy works at and added that he had walked about three quarters of a mile from work when the alleged abduction occurred.

Fuhr said the boy did not obtain a description of the driver or license plates. 

Anyone with information about the alleged incident or who knows of a pickup that matches the description is urged to call Rathdrum Police at 687-0711.