Man Who Allegedly Tried to Abduct Girl, 10, Turned In by His Parents

They recognized their son, and his car, in surveillance photos
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 3, 2022 10:15 AM CDT
Kidnapping Suspect Turned In By Own Parents
One of the surveillance photos.   (Thornton Police Department)

On Sept. 23, Diego James Gettler allegedly tried to abduct a 10-year-old girl outside her Colorado school. Last week, he was arrested after his own parents turned him in, police say. Gettler, 28, was charged Thursday with second-degree kidnapping, Fox News reports. Police say he approached the girl around 7:30am as she sat on the steps outside her school, and asked her if she was a student there, People reports. He allegedly grabbed her just as she was starting to feel uncomfortable and standing up to walk away, and he covered her mouth as she screamed, police say. However, she managed to pull down a mask he was wearing, and he let her go and fled, police say.

Surveillance footage showed the suspect parking a damaged gray Saturn Aura near the school before approaching the girl, then getting back in the car (from the passenger side door) and driving away after the incident. Police released surveillance photos of the suspect as well as the car, and on Sept. 26, Gettler's parents went to the local police station to report that their son may be the suspect because he has a gray Saturn Aura with damage in the same location shown on the photos, and he has to enter the vehicle from the passenger side. They also recognized the surveillance photos of the suspect. Police say Gettler's cellphone also pinged in the area of the abduction attempt at the time it was happening. He was arrested the same day his parents went to police. (More Colorado stories.)

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