A would-be kidnapper who disguised herself in oversized sunglasses and a bucket hat remains at large more than two months after trying to snatch a six-year-old girl at an Upper Manhattan subway station, police said.
The suspect, 47, approached the child and her mother from behind at the Inwood–207th Street station around 12:30 p.m. On July 29, according to the NYPD. She grabbed the girl and attempted to pull her onto a waiting train before the child’s mother intervened, law enforcement sources said.
The mother stepped in and stopped the abduction, causing the woman to flee alone aboard a southbound A train, sources said. Responding EMS workers treated the six-year-old at the scene, and she was not seriously injured.
Police have released surveillance images showing the woman near the turnstiles in her distinctive outfit: dark shades, a light blue oversized bucket hat, a black-and-white patterned shirt, and black pants. The photos were made public in hopes of identifying her after she managed to escape capture in the immediate aftermath of the incident.
The attempted kidnapping occurred in broad daylight at the northern terminus of the A line, a station that serves as a busy transfer point for commuters in the Inwood neighborhood. The suspect’s use of conspicuous accessories — the large sunglasses and bucket hat — appeared designed to obscure her identity while still allowing her to blend into summer crowds.
Authorities are asking anyone with information about the woman’s whereabouts to contact the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS. Spanish-speaking tipsters can call 1-888-57-PISTA. The public can also submit tips through the Crime Stoppers website or via the department’s X account, @NYPDTips.
The case has drawn renewed attention as the suspect remains unidentified despite the passage of more than two months since the July 29 encounter. The NYPD continues to investigate the attempted abduction, which was one of several high-profile incidents raising concerns about child safety in the city’s transit system this summer.