Posts Tagged: child abduction

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Police arrest man who snatched boy, 5, off NYC street in front of his mother

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YouTube/NYPD

Dolores Diaz Lopez sprang into action after a man snatched her 5-year-old son off a New York City street.

The NYPD released surveillance footage of the failed abduction attempt.

The child was running steps ahead of his mother and siblings when a man sitting in a nearby car snatched him and threw him into the backseat.

Lopez tried to grab her son as she and her children ran to the car and tried to ppen the door. and pulled her son through the open window as the suspect attempted to drive off with the boy.

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NYPD

On Friday, police arrested James McGonagle, 24, of Queens, the NYPD tells PEOPLE in an email.

He is charged with attempted kidnapping, reckless endangerment, and acting in a manner injurious to a child less than 17, the NYPD says.

Police say an unidentified man in the passenger seat is still at large. He is described as a white middle-aged man with a bald head.

Lopez, 45, told ABC 7 Eyewitness News she was on her way to visit her husband at work with her children when McGonagle tried to abduct her son, Jacob.

"I said, 'Oh my God my kids, oh my God my boy,'" Diaz Lopez told ABC7.

She said the car door was locked when she tried to open it.

But her son stood up in the car, enabling her to yank him out of the window to safety, she told ABC7.

McGonagle and the other suspect sped off before she could look at the license plate number.

Lopez said she was prepared to take quick action to save her son.

"You have to do what's necessary, no matter what," she told ABC 7. "The car was just parked there. I would never have imagined that a man would get out of the car and grab my son."
 

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Texas teenager charged with capital murder in death of 4-year-old boy

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Dallas PD

The Texas teenager who allegedly kidnapped and fatally stabbed a 4-year-old boy has been charged with capital murder.

Cash Gernon's body was found on a residential street around 6 a.m. on May 15. Prosecutors say Darriynn Brown kidnapped Cash from his bed and stabbed him to death with an "edged weapon."

Cash and his twin brother, Carter, were in the care of their father's ex-girlfriend, Monica Sherrod, when he was snatched.

Surveillance footage from a baby monitor shows a man who resembles Brown carrying Cash out of the house.

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Dallas PD, YouTube

The Dallas Police Department upgraded Brown's charges to capital murder after forensic evidence linked him to the child.

"Evidence submitted to the lab has been returned linking Darriynn Brown to Cash Gernon at the time of his death," said a statement issued by the Dallas PD.

Brown, 18, reportedly interacted with Cash at Sherrod's home in the days before the murder and was familiar with the family.

A neighbor identified Brown as the same man who broke into his home, attacked him and attempted to kidnap his 2-year-old granddaughter in a separate incident in February.

Brown is charged with burglary and injury to the elderly in that case.

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Suspect in Cash Gernon Case Says He’s Not the Man Seen in Video

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Dallas County Jail, Facebook

The suspect accused of snatching 4-year-old Cash Gernon from his bed and stabbing him to death says he is not the man seen in video footage in the boy's room.

A jogger found the boy lying dead in the street on the 7500 block of Saddleridge Drive at 6:40 a.m. on Saturday, May 15.

A coroner determined the boy had been stabbed multiple times.

Darriynn Brown, 18, was arrested later that day and charged with kidnapping and burglary. Injury to a child was added to his list of charges.

Cash and his twin brother were staying at the home of their father's ex-girlfriend, Monica Sherrod, about eight blocks away from where his body was found.

Sherrod identified Brown in the video surveillance footage. However, Heath Harris, Brown's defense attorney, says the man seen kidnapping Cash and returning 2 hours later to comfort his twin brother is not Brown.

"The world is basically prejudicing this whole community by saying, 'That's him,'" Harris told The Dallas Morning News.

He said, even if the man in the video was Brown, that doesn't mean his client is a killer.

Since Brown's arrest, a neighbor of Sherrod's told police Brown broke into his home, assaulted him and attempted to kidnap his 2-year-old granddaughter in February.

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Dallas County Jail

The man said he didn't press charges at the time because Sherrod (pictured) asked him not to. He said Sherrod told him Brown was staying with her and that he had had a mental episode.

Sherrod originally told police that Brown was a friend of her eldest son. But her son told investigators he knew Brown from high school and they weren't friends.

Brown is being held in the Dallas County Jail on $1.625 million bail.
 

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Cash Gernon’s Killer Grabbed Another Child Months Earlier

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Dallas County Jail, Daily Beast

The teenager suspected of abducting and killing 4-year-old Cash Gernon in Dallas, allegedly grabbed another child months earlier. But a grandfather's forgiveness allowed Darriynn Brown, 18, to escape punishment for that earlier crime.

According to the NY Post, Brown barged into a Dallas home and tried to kidnap a 3-year-old child in February. However, the child's grandfather declined to press charges.

The incident occurred on February 8, when Brown broke into a home and was caught by the homeowner who chased him with a kitchen knife.

Brown then returned to the man's home, kicked in the garage door and began punching the older man in the head -- before grabbing the homeowner's 2-year-old granddaughter as she slept, according to an arrest warrant affidavit obtained by KTVT.

The grandfather wrestled the crying toddler away from Brown who fled the home.

The grandfather told police he did not want to press charges at the time. He saw Brown weeks later at a Walmart and the teen apologized, the station reported.

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Dallas County Jail, Dailymail.com

Three days after Cash Gernon was found dead on a Dallas street while wearing only pajama shorts, the older man met with child abuse detectives to say he wanted to press charges for the Feb. 8 incident, KTVT reports.

Brown remains in the Dallas County Jail on $1.6 million bail. He is charged with kidnapping, burglary, and injury to a child in the Cash Gernon case.

A capital murder charge is expected pending the results of forensic evidence.

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Father of Cash Gernon’s guardian says boy was raped, stabbed by Darriynn Brown

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Dallas PD, YouTube

The father of a Dallas woman who cared for Cash Gernon and his twin brother says the boy was raped and stabbed by his abductor.

Darriynn Brown, 18, is accused of kidnapping 4-year-old Cash as the boy slept in a toddler bed with his twin brother, Carter, on May 15.

Police say Brown broke into a home through an unlocked garage door at 5 a.m. He is seen on surveillance video lingering over the bed for minutes before snatching Cash and running out of the house.

A woman jogging through the neighborhood at 6:40 a.m. spotted Cash lying in a pool of blood on a residential street and called 911.

Brown returned to the house 2 hours later to abduct Cash's brother, Carter, but he was spooked and fled without the boy.

Monica Sherrod, who was caring for the twins, told police their father left the boys at her Dallas home in March after they broke up.

She said Brown was a friend of her eldest son. However, the son told police he and Brown attended the same high school but they weren't friends.

Sherrod reportedly warned Brown, "Don't come around my kids" -- referring to her three teenage sons who lived in the home.

Sherrod waited until 11 a.m. Saturday to notify police that Cash was missing.

In a Facebook posts on May 16 and 17, Sherrod's father, Kurt Pinkerton, provided disturbing details about Cash's abduction and murder. He said Brown raped and stabbed Cash -- and the shocking crime was recorded on a friend's cellphone.

The friend, also 18, reportedly turned the cellphone recording over to police.

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Brown is charged with kidnapping and burglary -- but not rape or murder -- as police continue to review the disturbing evidence.

The twins' biological mother had been looking for her sons for an "extended period of time", according to police. She believed her sons were still with their father. The biological mom has been reunited with Cash's brother.
 

 

Copyright Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the photograph(s) or video(s) used in this post. Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" of photographs for purposes such as parody, criticism, commentary, news reporting, education, and research.

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Miami Man, 43, Arrested in Abduction, Rape of 12-Year-Old Boy

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Miami-Dade PD

A 43-year-old Miami man has been arrested by police in connection with the abduction and rape of a 12-year-old boy.

Aliex Santiesteban was arrested on Monday night in Miami's Overtown neighborhood. He was charged with sexual battery with a deadly weapon, kidnapping and attempted murder.

He is being held in the Miami-Dade jail without bond, NBC Miami reported.

Police say the Hispanic boy was abducted off the street around 2 a.m. Saturday on 43rd Terrace and 30th Avenue.

The boy was walking down the street when a man pulled up alongside him, forced him into a vehicle, and drove him to an empty lot near Northwest 45th Street and 31st Avenue, where he was sexually assaulted in the back seat of the car.

Santiesteban allegedly shot the boy and pushed him out of the vehicle, WPLG Local News 10 reported.

A bystander heard the boy's screams and took him to a nearby convenience store where an employee called 911.

Police spokesman Alvaro Zabaleta told reporters the child car door locks had been activated, blocking the boy's escape.

Unbeknownst to his parents, the boy apparently snuck out of his house, and had arranged pillows on his bed to give the appearance he was asleep. He was on his way back home from his friend's house when he was abducted.

He is in critical condition at Jackson Memorial Hospital's Ryder Trauma Center, according to NBC Miami.

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Intense manhunt underway in Miami for male suspect who abducted, raped and shot 12-year-old boy

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YouTube/WPLG Local News 10

A 12-year-old Miami boy is in critical condition at Jackson Memorial Hospital's Ryder Trauma Center after he was abducted, raped and shot in the head by a Hispanic male.

Miami police say the Hispanic boy was abducted off the street around 2 a.m. Saturday in the Brownsville neighborhood of Northwest Miami-Dade County.

The boy was walking down a street when a man pulled up alongside him, forced him into a vehicle, sexually assaulted him, shot him and then pushed him out of the vehicle, WPLG Local News 10 reported.

A bystander heard the boy's screams and took him to a nearby convenience store where an employee called 911.

Local News 10 talked to the Good Samaritan who asked to be identified only as Johnny. He said he was on his bicycle when he heard the boy screaming for help.

Johnny accompanied the child to the Foodland Market at NW 47th Street and 32nd Avenue, where the boy collapsed on the ground.

Johnny, who said he didn't have a phone, noticed the boy was bleeding from a head wound. The boy told him he had been shot.

The child was wearing only a blue t-shirt, blood-stained underwear and socks.

Police are searching for a Hispanic male with long curly hair, about 30 to 40 years old, driving a black sedan.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at (305) 471-8477.
 

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Ga. Boy, 12, Found Dead in Woods, $5,000 Reward Offered for Information Leading to His Killer

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GoFundMe

Atlanta police are asking the public for help identifying the person who shot a 12-year-old boy and left his body in the woods.

David Mack was found in a wooded area about a quarter mile from his home in Southwest Atlanta on Feb. 9.

His family reported him missing the day before, when he failed to return home after going to play football with friends.

Emergency responders found David unresponsive with multiple gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

"He was not alert, not conscious or breathing and was confirmed deceased by Grady EMS," the Atlanta Police Department said in a release.

According to a police report obtained by WSB-TV, David's grandmother reported him missing at 8:43 p.m. Tuesday, after driving around the neighborhood looking for him. She gave police the name of a boy he said he was meeting.

Police canvassed the neighborhood searching for David. Calls to his cell phone went unanswered, according to AJC.com.

David's grandmother believes he was on his way home when he was killed.

"I have a lot of questions," she said, fighting back tears.

The police report indicated police did not suspect foul play in his disappearance. The officer assumed he would return home, though the officer did notify the Georgia Crime Information Center to add his name to the system as missing.

A $5,000 reward has been offered by Crime Stoppers for any information leading to an arrest.

A GoFundMe created by the family to help with his funeral expenses raised nearly $19,000.

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Woman who claims to be abandoned boy’s mom says he was kidnapped by man who tried to prostitute her

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Southaven PD

Police have identified the mother of a 2-year-old boy found abandoned at a Mississippi Goodwill donation center with only a note and a change of clothes.

NBC News reports a man connected with the case was arrested by Memphis police on Monday afternoon.

Antoinette Smith claims a man who tried to pimp her out for cash kidnapped her son, Sergio, according to a Facebook Live interview she gave over the phone to a Memphis activist.

Smith said she traveled from Memphis to Nashville with a "male acquaintance," leaving her son behind in Memphis with a woman whom she believed was the man's sister.

Smith said the man later revealed that his "sister" was actually his girlfriend.

"If I knew that, I wouldn't have left my baby like that," Smith said. She claims the man then left her at a Nashville store after she refused his demand to turn tricks for him.

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Southaven PD

The Southaven Police Department circulated a still image from a surveillance video that shows a disguised man dropping the boy off at the Goodwill center.

Surveillance footage also showed a woman in a red vehicle with the man.

According to an employee at the Goodwill center, the man said the boy's mother couldn't care for him any longer. The employee called police when the man left the premises.

The man left a bag with the boy that contained a note and a change of clothing. The note read: "Child abandoned... no phone number for mom."

The child is in the custody of Child Protective Services until the mother arrives to pick him up.

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Police Arrest Stepmom of Missing 11-Year-Old Gannon Stauch (Videos)

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Photos: Facebook.com

Colorado Springs police arrested the chatty stepmother of Gannon Staunch exactly 5 months after the 11-year-old boy went missing.

Gannon's stepmother Leticia Stauch was arrested in South Carolina on Monday, Colorado authorities confirmed.

The charges include child abuse resulting in death, tampering with a body, and tampering with physical evidence.

"As you can see by the arrest, we no longer believe Gannon is alive," Lt. Mitch Mihalko said at a press conference on Monday. Police have not recovered Gannon's body. They will continue searching the El Paso area for Gannon's body. The search can take weeks or months.

Stauch told police the boy went missing after he walked over to a friend's house on Jan. 27. Stauch told police she last saw Gannon at 3:15 p.m. that day.

Stauch gave numerous television interviews, complaining that Gannon's biological mother was living in her house with her husband. She said she couldn't go home while her husband's ex-wife was there.

Gannon's supporters observed that Stauch was enjoying the attention from the media.

Stauch told reporters she believed Gannon had been abducted. But a neighbor's surveillance video showed Gannon getting into Stauch's pickup truck on the day he went missing.

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Screen grab: YouTube.com

The surveillance video is very dark, but if you look closely you can see Gannon at the 1:30 mark getting in at the rear driver's side door. Then at the 1:39 mark Stauch (wearing a white cap) is seen getting into the truck and driving off.

The video shows Stauch returning to the home alone about an hour later. At the 6:35 mark she is seen exiting the truck alone. She appears to be carrying a white towel.

"Justice will be served because my boy does not deserve this," said Gannon's biological mother Landen Hiott.

Gannon's father, Albert Stauch, said in a statement read aloud at the press conference, "The person who committed this heinous, horrible crime is one that I gave more to anyone else on this planet, and that is a burden that I will carry with me for a very long time."
 

 

 

Copyright Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the photograph(s) used in this post. Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" of photographs for purposes such as parody, criticism, commentary, news reporting, education, and research.