12-Year-Old Girl Taken From Home
LODI, Calif. — A 12-year-old girl was kidnaped by a stranger from her home Saturday night, police said.
Katie Romenek was at home with a friend when a man wearing blue shorts and no shirt entered the home, Chief Larry Hansen said. Katie’s 16-year-old sister returned home from an errand and found the man in the home. The suspect tied up the friend and sister and fled with Katie in the family’s car, which was found 25 miles away.
Police said there were no signs of forced entry into the house. The house has a “for sale” sign in the front and the suspect gained entry by saying he wanted to see the home, Hansen said.
The incident had similarities to the Polly Klaas kidnaping in October. The 12-year-old Petaluma girl was snatched from a slumber party at her home and later killed.
Katie’s parents were in Michigan, Hansen said. She was described as 4 feet 8 inches tall, 85 pounds, with brown shoulder-length hair and brown eyes.
The suspect was described as a white male in his 30s, 6 feet tall, medium build, sandy blond shoulder-length hair, beard and tattoos.
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