State Police Crack Kidnapping Cold Case Dating Back To 1999
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SHADE TOWNSHIP (KDKA) - A cold case dating back to 1999 where a child was taken off the streets has been solved, nearly 20 years later.
State police in Somerset County say that 50-year-old Timothy David Nelson of Cumberland, Maryland, kidnapped a girl off the street in September 1999. Officials say that Nelson took the girl from a street in the Village of Cairnbrook in Shade Township.
9/19/99 Somerset County Cold Case Solved Kidnapping, SOLVED
See below pic.twitter.com/ORTolB5CNq
— Troop A Public Information Officers (@PSPTroopAPIO) January 9, 2019
Authorities said in press release that Nelson took the 10-year-old girl off the street, placed her in his vehicle and then drove to a remote area of West Virginia where he assaulted her. The same day, Nelson released the girl. In 1999, state police and other federal, state and local law enforcement agencies worked to find the suspect, but unfortunately, no leads were developed.
Officials say in 2004 with the advancement of DNA analysis, they were able to determine that the accused suspect was linked to two additional unsolved kidnappings in 1988 in Hagerstown, Maryland.
The case went cold again until late 2018, according to state police.
Authorities say they established a suspect through fingerprint identification in late 2018. The case was finally brought to a close on Tuesday when police arrested Nelson.
The identity of the victims have not been released by police.
