Search Continues For Suspects In Attempted Kidnapping Of 2 Girls On Long Island

MINEOLA, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- The search continues for two suspects in Tuesday's attempted kidnapping of two young girls in Mineola.

Nassau County police have released a sketch of one of two suspects, who they said confronted the 8-year-old cousins as they were playing in a fenced-in backyard on Maple Place.

"Little girls. Little, tiny girls that are now traumatized," said neighbor Laura Gregorius. "This is horrible."

Investigators say it happened around 4:30 p.m. Tuesday. The girls were playing in the yard when police said two men came up and asked the girls if they wanted to take a ride in a car.

"All of a sudden, two guys come and try to, say, 'hey, come with me, you know, what's your name?' They opened the gate, came in the yard," the father of one of the children told CBS2.

Police said the men then chased the girls around the yard. One of the men pushed one of the girls to the ground and struck her in the face, police said.

"Pushed my goddaughter down. She was able to push, punch, I don't know, at one of them. One ran one way, one ran the other way, they met here in the front, screaming. The guys took off," the father said.

Police are now patrolling the area in unmarked cars.

Parents dropping off their kids at school and at bus stops say they're always concerned. But now dad Chris Garcia says they're also nervously on the lookout.

"It's scary. Gotta start locking the windows, watching where our kids are at all times," he told CBS2's Janelle Burrell.

April Leong says the incident has her and fellow reiterating to their children the importance of being alert and what to do if ever confronted by a suspicious stranger.

"It's scary, especially knowing the family, too. It's sad," she said. "We have to re-emphasize just to make sure she understands what's going on, not to talk to strangers and if something like that happens, kick and yell and defend yourself."

"It's tough because you never expect something like that so close," said Garcia.

Investigators say the suspect in the sketch is between the ages of 40 and 45 with black hair, a long brown beard and an earring in his ear. They say the second suspect also had a long beard and both were wearing yellow pants and blue shirts.

The girls' parents are now warning other families on social media, writing, "My daughter was grabbed by one of the men thrown to the ground and punched in the face. Please, please, please be on the lookout."

Anyone with information is asked to contact Nassau County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-244-TIPS.