Police said on Tuesday that they were looking for as many as three men involved in an apparent kidnapping and attempted kidnapping.
Two nine year old boys playing outside in west Columbus told authorities they witnessed a screaming woman forced into a van, 10TV's Glenn McEntryre reported.
"We heard someone say help like five times," said one of the boys. "They pushed the girl in and they slammed the door, hurried up, got in and floored it and made a left."
Hours earlier, just a few blocks away, someone else had a similar run-in with a man in a similar vehicle, McEntyre reported.
Desiray Beach said that a man approached her along Avondale Avenue near West Rich Street.
"I kept walking, and the next thing I know, I hear a car door and he comes up and grabs me from behind," Beach said. "I felt his grip. I felt the strength in his hands."
Beach, 21, said that she got loose and ran home.
"It's scary, especially when I have kids," Beach said. "That's the first thing that popped in my head was them kids. I think that's the only thing that gave me strength to pull away from him."
Columbus police Sgt. Rich Weiner said that police were investigating the reports.
"Because of the similarities, the proximity of where both occurred and the timeframe, we're taking it very serious," said Weiner.
Investigators said that no one had reported a woman missing in the area, but they were looking for up to three men who were in the area on Tuesday driving a white work van with no side windows and two rear windows with bars on the back, reported McEntyre.
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