A 15-year-old boy has been arrested on kidnapping charges in Washington state stemming from an attempted abduction of a toddler that was caught on video and thwarted by the baby’s young siblings and other witnesses, officials said on Wednesday.
The teenager was taken into custody following several days of interviews, DNA testing and a search warrant on his home in Sprague, southwest of Spokane, where the kidnapping occurred, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office said.
He is accused of grabbing the 22-month-old boy from his stroller in a city park in broad daylight on Sunday and running off with the baby, in an incident caught on surveillance video by a local grocery store.
The toddler and his older siblings, ages 8 and 10, had been left with a babysitter and were playing unattended in the park when the suspect approached and began talking to the children, the sheriff’s office said.
After grabbing the boy, both his sister and brother pursued the kidnapper, screaming for help and alerting a group of teenagers who also gave chase, authorities said. The kidnapper ultimately set the child down unharmed and escaped.
The teen, who was identified in a photo montage by one of the toddler’s siblings, was booked into a juvenile facility on charges of second degree kidnapping and was awaiting a first court appearance and arraignment, authorities said.
Lincoln County Sheriff Wade Magers said the motive for the attempted abduction was not yet clear.
