NEWTON COUNTY, Ga. — Police are searching for a man they said tried to kidnap a young girl from a playground.
Covington police said an 8-year-old girl was playing Saturday around 5:30 p.m. at the Wellington Ridge Apartments when the incident happened. Investigators said she was playing with about 10 other children.
Police said a man wearing a mask and gloves grabbed the girl's wrist and put his hand over her mouth. The girl's mother says her daughter fought back.
"She kicked him, so I don't know how hard she kicked him, but it was enough for him to let go," Catricia Harris said. "She was determined not to get kidnapped."
Harris said she never thought this would happen to her.
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"It's a gated community. They were with a group of people. You think you checked all of the boxes," she said.
The kidnapper was described as young, slim and about 5 feet 8 inches tall. He was wearing short sleeves and a ski mask.
"They tried to find the ski mask for DNA or something like that, but she didn't get a good look at his face because he had the ski mask on," Harris said.
The woman said she doesn't want to let her daughter out of her sight.
"No more walking home from the bus stop, no more playing outside. I keep her very close to me at all times," she said.
Police said the man ran into the woods nearby. Police are asking people in the area to be on the lookout for anyone hanging around a playground who looks like they don't belong.