The mall where Ted Bundy approached Leslie Parmenter

This is the parking lot where serial killer Ted Bundy attempted to abduct Leslie Parmenter.

It is situated on Blanding Boulevard in Jacksonville, Florida.

Bundy, who had recently purchased a Buck General hunting knife at a store on Normandy Boulevard, was searching for his next victim. By that time, 24 days had passed since he attacked four women at the Chi Omega sorority house in Tallahassee.

Leslie Parmenter

Parmenter was the daughter of James Lester Parmenter, the chief of detectives at the Jacksonville Police Department.

Shortly before 3 p.m. on February 8, 1978, the 14-year-old left Jeb Stuart Junior High School and walked to a Kmart parking lot across the street.

That afternoon, her older brother Danny was supposed to pick her up outside the department store.

While she was in the lot, Bundy pulled up beside her in a stolen white Dodge van, got out, and began asking her questions.

Parmenter said he looked unkempt and was nervously fidgeting with his coat pockets. He had dark-framed glasses, wavy dark hair, plaid slacks, and a dark navy-type jacket, which had a plastic badge that read "Richard Burton: Fire Department."

Bundy introduced himself as a firefighter and asked her if she had just left Jeb Stuart Junior High School.

Parmenter was suspicious of his behavior and believed that the plastic badge on his coat looked fake.

She attempted to walk past him, but he kept cutting her off and questioning her.

Danny

Moments later, her brother Danny arrived at the parking lot and witnessed the encounter.

He quickly pulled up beside them and asked Bundy what he wanted. Bundy became flustered and mumbled "nothing" before hurrying back toward his van.

When Danny walked over to him and demanded to know why he had been talking to his sister, Bundy claimed that he had mistaken her for someone else. During their short exchange, he was reportedly trembling.

Seconds later, Bundy rolled up his window and drove away.

Danny attempted to follow the vehicle but lost it in traffic. He noted the license plate "13-D-11300" before the van disappeared from view.

When Parmenter's father learned of the incident, he decided to investigate the plate.

The number 13-D-11300 was registered to a VW Camper van owned by a Tallahassee resident named Randy Ragan. When Ragan was contacted, he said that the plate had gone missing one month prior.

Ragan's address was a significant clue, as he lived directly behind the duplex on Dunwoody Street where Bundy had attacked Cheryl Thomas.

Investigators were also aware that a white Dodge media van had been recently stolen from the Florida State University campus.

The plate confirmed that Bundy had approached Parmenter on February 8, 1978. The following day, he used the same van to abduct 12-year-old Kimberly Leach from Lake City.