UPDATE 4/17 6:30 PM -
Tucson Police have released new details in the attempted abduction of two teenage girls on Wednesday evening.
According to a press release, the two girls were confronted by a man in the Midvale Park neighborhood around 3:15 p.m. According to reports, the suspect attepted to drag the two girls away, but they broke free and ran from the area.
An adult witness the girls spoke to saw and took a photo of the alleged abductor running and jumping over a wall, TPD says in the release.
Patrol officers, an air unit and investigators from TPD's Human Exploitation and Trafficking Unit and Sex Offender Registration and Tracking Team assisted in the search.
During the search that extended into the next day, a community member, recognizing the man in the photograph circulating on social media, led officers to a desert area the suspect was commonly seen previously, where he was eventually found and taken into custody, according to the TPD press release.
UPDATE 4/17 9:05 PM -
TPD and detectives have arrested a person of interest identified as 30-year-old Jesse Howlett.
Howett is being charged with 2 counts of attempted kidnapping, 2 counts of aggravated assault on a minor, and sexual abuse.
In an X post, TPD said they're extremely grateful to the Tucson community for their support and vigilance.
They went on to thank the multiple units and federal partners who assisted in searching for and apprehending the suspect.
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Tucson Police are looking for a man who allegedly assaulted two teen girls in the Midvale Park area on Tucson's southwest side.
The girls reported to TPD that the man had assaulted them at around 2:30 p.m. Wednesday near South Springbrook Drive and West Maplewood Drive, according to a social media post from Tucson Police.
The teens were not injured and were able to run to safety, the post said.
Tucson Police could not find the suspect, but released images of the man captured on surveillance camera.
Anyone with information is asked to call 911 or 88-CRIME.
