Current:Home > Invest'We are so proud of you': 3 pre-teens thwart man trying to kidnap 6-year-old girl -Wealth Legacy Solutions
'We are so proud of you': 3 pre-teens thwart man trying to kidnap 6-year-old girl
View
Date:2025-04-19 15:16:40
Three Washington girls are being hailed as heroes after they stopped the attempted kidnapping of a 6-year-old girl.
Police got a 911 call about a man abducting a young girl at an apartment complex in the Seattle suburb of Kent just after 8 p.m. Tuesday, according to the Kent Police Department.
Police said a witness told 911 dispatchers that they had witnessed the man picking up the young girl while she screamed and that the man did not appear to be a relative. The eyewitness gave officers a detailed description of the man.
When officers arrived at the scene, they quickly found a man matching the description. He tried to flee but officers quickly detained him, they said.
Soon after police learned about the pivotal actions of three 11-year-old girls who had been there, saying in a news release that the girls showed "selfless bravery" and "stepped in without pause" to help the 6-year-old.
Man used ice cream truck to lure children in the complex, police said
Witnesses told police that an ice cream truck had entered the apartment complex, attracting a group of children.
As three pre-teen girls were headed to the truck to buy some treats, they noticed a man holding the wrist of their 6-year-old neighbor, police said.
The 6-year-old’s brother, who was nearby, called to the girl to come to him but she could not break the man's hold, police said.
"The girls stated she looked afraid, and the man appeared to be pulling her forcibly along," police said. "They could hear her telling the man to let her go. They began to follow because it was obvious to them that she was trying to get away and they were sure he did not know the victim."
Girls work together to stop attempted kidnapping
Using their phones, the girls began to record the man, telling him to leave the younger girl alone, police said.
The man picked up the 6-year-old girl and tried to “speed walk” away from them, police said, but the girls kept following him. They asked the man if he knew the girl and he said he did but the girl shook her head no, police said.
Police said the man then put the girl on the ground and began to run away. The girls took the 6-year-old back to safety and her parents confirmed that the suspect was a stranger.
Missing teen found safe:14-year-old Utah girl missing 2 weeks in Mexico found safe; uncle facing kidnapping charge
Man detained and faces kidnapping charges
Police said that the suspect is a 40-year-old local man and that he was arrested on kidnapping charges and booked at the King County Jail.
“The little girl is now safe, the man is in jail, and we are impressed beyond words at the maturity and protectiveness displayed by these preteen girls,” the police department said in a statement. “We are so proud of you. You are amazing.”
USA TODAY reached out to Kent Police Department but have not heard back yet.
Ahjané Forbes is a reporter on the National Trending Team at USA TODAY. Ahjané covers breaking news, car recalls, crime, health, lottery and public policy stories. Email her at [email protected]. Follow her on Instagram, Threads and X (Twitter) @forbesfineest.
veryGood! (1)
Related
- The Best Stocking Stuffers Under $25
- One Way Back: Christine Blasey Ford on speaking out, death threats, and life after the Kavanaugh hearings
- Ohio State officially announces Jake Diebler as men’s basketball head coach
- Man faces charges in two states after alleged killings of family members in Pennsylvania
- Illinois governor calls for resignation of sheriff whose deputy fatally shot Black woman in her home
- Biden campaign has amassed $155M in cash on hand for 2024 campaign and raised $53M last month
- United Airlines CEO tries to reassure customers that the airline is safe despite recent incidents
- Yale stuns Brown at buzzer to win Ivy League, earn automatic bid to NCAA Tournament
- Civic engagement nonprofits say democracy needs support in between big elections. Do funders agree?
- South Carolina and Iowa top seeds in the women’s NCAA Tournament
Ranking
- Tom Holland's New Venture Revealed
- Biden praises Schumer's good speech criticizing Netanyahu
- A second man is charged in connection with 2005 theft of ruby slippers worn in ‘The Wizard of Oz’
- Michigan woman shot in face by stepdad is haunted in dreams, tortured with hypotheticals
- Residents worried after ceiling cracks appear following reroofing works at Jalan Tenaga HDB blocks
- Byron Janis, renowned American classical pianist who overcame debilitating arthritis, dies at 95
- Lucky Day: Jerome Bettis Jr. follows in father's footsteps, verbally commits to Notre Dame
- Rewilding Japan With Clearings in the Forest and Crowdfunding Campaigns
Recommendation
IRS recovers $4.7 billion in back taxes and braces for cuts with Trump and GOP in power
Want to feel special? Stores and restaurants with paid memberships are betting on it
NCAA Tournament South Region predictions for group full of favorites and former champions
Rewilding Japan With Clearings in the Forest and Crowdfunding Campaigns
Jamaica's Kishane Thompson more motivated after thrilling 100m finish against Noah Lyles
South Carolina and Iowa top seeds in the women’s NCAA Tournament
Target limits self-checkout to 10 items or less: What shoppers need to know
Jeremy Renner reveals how Robert Downey Jr. cheered him up after snowplow accident