Police say a search led them to the suspect and the little girl, in a secluded area along the Willamette River.
(ALBANY) - A report of a missing 7-year old girl led Albany Police to a sex abuse case and the arrest of a man suspected of nabbing the child from her front yard.
On Tuesday, August 8, 2006 at 9:20 PM, the Albany Police Department responded to the 600 block of SE 6th Avenue on the report of a missing 7-year old girl.
The parents told police that they had last seen their daughter in the front yard about 40 minutes prior to calling police. A witness further reported that a male subject had taken the 7-year old girl from the front yard and rode off with her on a white motorized scooter.
A search effort was begun along the banks of the Willamette River for the 7-year old girl and the suspect. At 11:40 PM, officers located the suspect and the 7-year old girl in a secluded area along the Willamette River near Water Avenue and Sherman Street.
The suspect fled the area on foot and was located 35 minutes later hiding in a back yard in the 800 block of SE 1st Avenue. The suspect was located by an Albany Police K-9.
The suspect, a registered predatory sex offender, is identified as 41-year old Hugh Lewis Hile. Hugh Lewis Hile was loosely known by the victim's family. Hugh Lewis Hile was lodged in the Linn County Jail on the following charges:Kidnapping in the First DegreeRape in the First DegreeSexual Abuse in the First DegreeSodomy in the First DegreeUnlawful Sexual Penetration in the First Degree
The 7-year old girl received care at the ABC House (All Because of Children – Linn County Child Victim Assessment Center) before she was reunited with her parents.
Anyone with information regarding this incident, or other possible incidents involving Hugh Lewis Hile, is asked to call the Albany Police Detective Unit at 541-917-7686.
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