Abductor Is Sought After Sex Attack on Girl, 6, in La Verne : Crime: Victim is taken from yard outside her home, released later nearby. Incident raises fears of parents in community.

La Verne police were searching Monday for a man who grabbed a 6-year-old girl from her front yard, carried her into his truck and sexually molested her before dropping her about three blocks away Sunday evening.

The girl, whose name was not released, was found trembling and in tears about 40 minutes after the abduction in a park near her house, police said. She was taken to Pomona Valley Community Hospital and later released.

“None of us can remember this ever occurring in the history of the city,” said Police Lt. Ron Ingels. “It just took a few seconds and the kid was gone--boom! I think that’s the shock of something like this.”

Authorities said the incident does not appear to be related to similar incidents in September in southern Los Angeles County, or more recent incidents in Claremont. La Verne, a community of 30,000, is 30 miles east of Los Angeles.

Claremont police recently sent flyers to area schools warning parents of a man in a red pickup truck who had tried to kidnap two children from a schoolyard.

In Sunday’s incident, the girl, who neighbors said liked to roller-skate and throw a ball against the wall, was playing in her front yard about 6:15 p.m. with two older brothers, 9 and 10. The father was inside the home at the time.

The children told police that a man approached the girl on foot, placed his hand over her mouth and, as she struggled, carried her around the corner to a truck and drove off.

Soon, police officers and neighbors were combing the area, calling out the girl’s name.

The child was found by neighbors in the nearby park. Police said she was still wearing the jumpsuit that she had on when she was abducted.

The blonde first-grader told police that her attacker molested her and also tried to rape her before dropping her off in the park.

She described him as a white male, about 30 years old, medium build, about 5-feet, 9-inches tall, with light brown or blond hair and a mustache. She said he was driving a gray pickup truck with an extra-large cab and a camper shell on back.

Authorities said the girl was too shaken to give a more detailed description.

Police had no suspects late Monday, and that made neighbors in the area uneasy.

The streets in the quiet San Gabriel Valley bedroom community are marked with warnings to would-be burglars that neighbors keep an eye out for each other.

Elementary schools, which include personal safety instruction as part of their curriculum, have signs posted in front that caution strangers, “We Watch Our Children.”

Still, the most vigilant of parents expressed concern Monday about their ability to prevent this kind of crime.

“We instruct our little girls not to talk to strangers,” said Mary Hervey, a neighbor. “But when they’re just grabbed away like this, what can you do?”

Added Mary Russell, another neighbor: “If you can’t let your children out to play in the yard, what are you going to do? Leave them locked up all the time?”