Man Held After Kidnap Attempt of Girl

A 32-year-old New Jersey man was arrested at a motel Saturday night after he tried to kidnap a 5-year-old girl, police said.

Dennis Gill, of Hackettstown, N.J., was arrested just before 6 p.m. at the Pacific View Motel in Sunset Beach, about three hours after he tried to abduct the child near the intersection of Seal Beach Boulevard and Electric Avenue, police said.

Gill was arrested on suspicion of attempted kidnapping, possession of methamphetamines and a variety of outstanding warrants, police said. He was being held Saturday in the Seal Beach Jail.

The attempted abduction occurred about 3 p.m., near the greenbelt that runs through the center of the city’s coastal section. Witnesses told police that a man walking a small brown dog had tried to kidnap the girl but she managed to escape.

An officer searching the neighborhood a short time later saw a man matching the suspect’s description near the intersection of Ocean Boulevard and Dolphin Avenue, but he fled down an alley and disappeared. Police cordoned off and searched an area covering several blocks but could not find the suspect.

Acting on information from residents and other leads, officers arrested Gill a short time later at the motel on Pacific Coast Highway in nearby Sunset Beach.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call Detective Bob Mullins at the Seal Beach Police Department, (310) 431-2541, ext. 210.