Jessica Ridgeway Killing: Police Look for Suspect in Two Near-Abductions

Oct. 15, 2012— -- Police in Arvada, Colo., are looking for a man suspected of trying to abduct two children a few weeks before 10-year-old Jessica Ridgeway's killing to see whether there is a possible connection.

In two reported incidents on Sept. 9 and Sept. 12, Arvada police said an 8- and 9-year-old were nearly abducted, according to police.

"Both of them said they were offered candy to get into the vehicle. In both incidences, they knew to run and tell an adult," Arvada police spokeswoman Jill McGranahan told ABC News affiliate KMGH-TV.

Jessica's body was found Oct. 10 in an Arvada park, seven miles from her home in Westminster, Colo.

Meanwhile, police in Cody, Wyo., announced that a man suspected in a child abduction case was arrested Sunday in Belgrade, Mont. Authorities in the Ridgeway case do not believe there is a connection.

With no major breaks in the case, residents in and around Jessica's hometown are on edge. A report that a man in a car tried to kidnap a 13-year-old boy in Jefferson County, Colo., this weekend turned out to be false.

The teen believed a man was trying to lure him into his parked car, so he ran inside his home and alerted his mother, who managed to snap a photo of the suspect in his blue sedan.

When the picture was circulated by police, the 18-year-old man in the car turned himself in and explained that he had been trying to get the boy to knock on the door of his ex-girlfriend's home to get her attention, Jefferson County Sheriff's Office spokesman Mark Techmeyer told KMGH.

A mug shot of the driver was taken, but he was released after police determined he was not a threat to the community.

"I think everyone reacted just the way they should have, in the light of everything that is going on," Techmeyer said.

With so few clues, authorities have asked the public for help, urging them to be on the lookout for anyone showing behavioral changes.

"Child abduction, first of all, is an outrageous crime," ABC News FBI consultant Brad Garrett said. "But then when the perpetrator actually kills a child, that is so above the pale, you're going to get people maybe to come forward that wouldn't normally."

FBI profilers believe the suspect that they are hunting is likely male and might have recently missed work or suddenly left town. He might have changed his appearance or gotten rid of his car, profilers said.

"The sicko is out here, still," Westminster resident Shanna Pearsy said. "Who knows where he is at but we need to find him."

Jessica had been last seen Oct. 5, when she left for school. The fifth-grader never showed up at a nearby park where she was supposed to meet friends for the one-mile walk to her elementary school.

After an extensive search of the area, including knocking on doors and FBI road blocks, Jessica's dismembered body was found Wednesday in an Arvada park, miles from where she was abducted.

"It's hard to imagine why someone would want to do this to such a nice little girl," Seth Snyder said Saturday at a memorial for Jessica.