Teenager arrested in kidnap attempt thwarted by siblings
SPRAGUE, Wash. -- A Washington state teenager is under arrest, accused of trying to abduct a toddler in broad daylight before being thwarted by the child's siblings and two other teens, authorities said.
The 15-year-old, whose name was withheld because he is a minor, was booked into a juvenile detention facility on suspicion of second-degree kidnapping, Lincoln County Sheriff Wade Magers said.
The case drew wide attention when dramatic surveillance video footage showed a male running down a sidewalk with the toddler in his arms.
The attempted abduction took place Sunday in Sprague, a small farming town in eastern Washington, about 40 miles southwest of Spokane.
Michael Wright left his three children with a baby sitter while he went to work. The children -- Brenden, 10, Delicia, 8, and the 22-month-old boy -- were playing unsupervised in a city park near the sitter's house.
Sheriff's deputies said the suspect talked with the children for a few minutes, then scooped the toddler out of his stroller and ran down the street. Surveillance video from a grocery store showed the kidnapper running, child in arms, with Delicia chasing and Brenden not far behind.
"There's a girl running behind him, he's running through the alleyway with a kid, things don't look right," 15-year-old Andrew Crane told CBS affiliate KREM on Monday.
After Crane and 16-year-old Isaac Yow joined the chase, the attempted abductor put down the toddler and fled. The little boy wasn't hurt. The high school freshmen told KREM they continued to run after the suspect, but he disappeared.
"I didn't really care," Crane said of the possible danger. "There was a kid's life in danger, and I didn't care about my own at that point."
The suspect, who lives in Sprague, was identified through the use of surveillance video, interviews and evidence collection, Magers said. One of the kidnap victim's young siblings also positively identified him.
The Lincoln County Prosecutor's Office will make the final decision on whether the teenager will be charged.