Convicted sex offender arrested following pair of attempted abductions of underage girls on Indy’s northwest side

INDIANAPOLIS— Police have arrested a convicted sex offender accused of carrying out a pair of attempted abductions of underage girls on Indy’s northwest side.

The first attempted abduction took place in early April when an underage girl was walking near Westlane Road. The second incident took place almost a month later in early May.

The second victim was walking in a neighborhood near Georgetown Road when the 16-year-old girl told police a stranger tried to push her into his car earlier this month.

“She said that a guy tried to snatch her and drag her into his vehicle,” said the victim’s mother, Renota Johnson.

Fortunately, Johnson’s daughter managed to escape the terrifying encounter.

“Yeah, it’s scary. You don’t think it will happen to one of your children until something actually does,” said Johnson.

Just three weeks earlier, police believe the same suspect lured a different underage girl into his car by offering her a ride to a gas station along Michigan Road.

That victim claimed the suspect instead took her phone and drove her to a home on Crickwood Drive, where she said she was scared for her life and grabbed a small dumbbell inside the suspect’s car and hit the would-be abductor in the head.  That allowed her to run away down to street to a neighbor’s home to call 911.

While neither victim was hurt, the case is a reminder to everyone to talk to their kids about stranger danger.

“It has to be extremely traumatic for these young children. It’s very scary. It wouldn’t matter if it was an adult or a child,” said IMPD Officer Tommy Thompson.

Court records show police used traffic cameras to link Michael Lindsey to the attempted abductions and even found the Croc shoes that fell off the first victim inside his home.

The 64-year-old suspect was previously convicted of child molestation, rape and attempted criminal confinement before being released by the Department of Corrections in 2022.

While the new allegations are still being investigated, police insist that educating kids about their personal safety is critical, starting at a young age.

“Children need to understand if they do not know this person, go the other way and seek help,” said Thompson.

“Those conversations, we just have to have them. It’s imperative we talk to our children about strangers,” said Johnson.

The suspect is now being held on a $50,000 cash bond plus GPS monitoring pending the filing of formal charges by the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office.