Police Officers Catch Kidnapper, Save 6-year old
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Neighbor Jumps Into Action
(KY) – On July 2 a 6-year old little girl was riding her bicycle in front of her house. A red Dodge Charger pulled up, The driver got out, grabbed the little girly by her collar, and threw her into the passenger seat of his car. He then sped off.
Prentiss Weatherford, who is a neighbor, saw the kidnapping. He called for his father to bring his keys. They chased the Dodge Charger and were able to get three letters from the license plate. At some point one of the men made a 911 call. When they saw a passing police officer, they gave him the three letters they had been able to see. This helped police in finding the vehicle.
Police Officers Locate the Dodge Charger
Sergeant Joe Keeling, with the Louisville Metropolitan Police Department, located the car. He ordered the driver to back away from the vehicle and to get on his knees. Back-up began arriving. One officer secured the driver while Sergeant Keeling kept his weapon aimed at the suspect. Another officer arrived, Officer Jason Burba. Body camera video shows Sergeant Keeling states there are two individuals. Officer Burba thinks he means there is another kidnapper and begins to yell for the person to open the door. Sergeant Keeling says, “It might be our victim.” Burba holsters his weapon and opens the passenger door. The crying child turns to him and goes willingly into his arms.
This whole incident lasted 30 minutes and the child was rescued uninjured.
Two Rare Events
According to Sergeant Keeling, it’s “extremely rare for us to see a stranger kidnapping.” That’s true. Stranger kidnappings are very rare. It’s more common for a child to be kidnapped by someone they know, particularly a parent. The individual in this case, didn’t have any connection to the child or her family. That’s also what makes these cases so hard to solve. There are no connections to follow. If no one had seen the child being kidnapped, who knows how this would have turned out.
But the kidnapping was observed. Two men chose to act and to give information to the police. And the second rare event happened. Police officers stopped the vehicle just 30 minutes from the time she was abducted in plain sight. The child was recovered uninjured. This is unbelievably rare. Luck was part of it, but huge credit has to go to the Weatherfords, Sergeant Keeling, and the responding police officers.
Bail Bond Set at $1,000,000
40-year old Robby Wildt has been charged with Kidnapping of a minor.
According to an arrest citation reported by WDRB, Wildt allegedly told police he saw the girl playing outside, and “took her from the side of the road”. According to Wildt’s testimony, he tried to console the girl as she cried “before deciding he knew what he was doing was wrong”. He then told the police he began to drive the victim back home because he was “afraid he may hurt her”. Wildt also allegedly said that “he felt bad for doing what he had done”.
It is possible that Wildt was taking her back. He was spotted driving just half a mile away from the abduction site. He could have gone much further than that in 30 minutes. It doesn’t matter. He still kidnapped the child. Wildt has pled not guilty. The judge set his bail bond at one million dollars. Robby Wildt is currently in jail.