Wash. Kids Thwart Man From Swiping Toddler

Siblings, 2 teenage passersby give chase
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 11, 2015 10:06 AM CDT

A man who grabbed a 22-month-old boy Sunday from a stroller in Washington state probably didn't think he'd be foiled by the boy's young sister and two teenagers. Owen Wright was being watched by a babysitter at a park when he got snatched, and his 8-year-old sister Delicia started yelling and running after the man and her brother. Isaac Yow, 16, and Andrew Crain, 15, saw what was happening and gave chase. The man put the toddler down and kept running, and after the teens handed the boy to his sister, they kept running, too. The little girl "played the biggest part" in the rescue, Isaac tells KXLY. "If she wouldn't have been screaming, we wouldn't have known nothing was wrong."

The suspect got away, but KXLY reports that surveillance cameras in the area managed to get a "clear picture" of the man described as white, possibly in his mid-20s, with a slender build, short hair, and a mustache. Police in Sprague, a town of 500, are searching for him, and the manhunt is spreading across the country. According to 19 Action News, the suspect was talking with the kids and their babysitter at the park before snatching Owen. A local who saw Delicia chasing after her brother (followed by her other brother, 10-year-old Brenden) says she told her, "'Honey, you did exactly what you needed to do: scream your head off.' That's what saved that baby." (More uplifting news stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X