After decades of watching TV and movies about police and crime, when I hear of an attempted kidnapping my mind moves to the more elaborate plans some kidnappers use to hide their identities to keep from getting caught.  I think about the goofy capers where the kidnapped victim joins forces with the kidnappers to extract some kind of revenge from a spouse or friend. But I have to admit the idea of a kidnapping seems kind of unreal.  But they happen and one almost happened last night. 8/31/21

The 411

Yakima police officers responded to Miller Park, 502 North 4^th Street on Tuesday, evening, August 31^st at about 8:45 pm in response to a report of a possible attempted kidnapping.  A patrol officer arrived to find several people holding a 26-year-old homeless female on the ground.

Witnesses told the officer the subdued woman had tried to kidnap a 3-year-old child from the park.  The suspected sequence of events - the woman allegedly picked up the youngster and took off. The victim's 11-year-old sister saw the grab and gave chase. She caught up to the woman carrying her sibling and tried to intervene but the suspect struck her and knocked her to the ground.

Good Guys To The Rescue

That might have been it but two bystanders saw what was happening and jumped in to help.  The men grabbed the suspect and held her until police could arrive.  Police say neither the young victim, the sister, or anyone in their family was familiar with the suspect or her motives

Yakima Police Captain Jay Seely said, "Officers believed the female suspect was suffering from mental health issues based on her behavior and statements she made to the officers.”

The guys who came to the rescue didn't want to be identified but Capt Seely added,“We are very thankful the two men, who recognized the situation and immediately acted, preventing every parent’s worst nightmare – having a child abducted.”

Follow Up

The suspect was booked into the Yakima County Jail on charges of 2nd-degree kidnapping and two counts of assault 4^th degree.  The identity of the suspect won’t be released until she is formally charged. Anyone with information that may be relevant to this case is urged to contact the YPD at (509) 575-6200 or by calling 9-1-1. Tips can be also be reported to Yakima County Crime Stoppers by phone at 1-800-248-9980, on the organization’s website at www.crimestoppersyakco.org, or through the “P3 Tips” app at http://p3intel.com/mobileapp.htm.