A nine-year-old school girl was walking home from a local bus stop near Basswood Drive on Friday afternoon when a man she did not know approached her and asked for directions. He suddenly picked the child and forced her into the passenger side of his car, the Stafford County Sheriff's Office in Virginia reported. But as soon as the man moved towards the driver's side of his car, the young girl managed to open the passenger door and make a run for it.
"This afternoon at 2:50 p.m. deputies responded to Embrey Mill subdivision for an attempted abduction of a child," the Stafford County Sheriff's Office said in a statement, as per Faithwire. "The initial investigation revealed a nine-year-old girl was walking home from a bus stop on Embrey Mill Road when she was approached by a stranger asking her for directions."
According to WUSA 9, the kidnapper drove away in a black Buick Regal. Police responded to the attempted kidnapping at about 2:50 p.m. Community members also took part in the investigation, sending photos of the car and sending possible leads. Just hours later, Steven Randall Williams, a 34 year old man of Stafford County, Virginia was arrested by the police.
Williams' house on Owens Street was surrounded by the SWAT Team at around 9 p.m. that same day, but the abductor refused to come out. Police said it became a barricade situation. Authorities thena drone and a robot into the home to search for the abductor. Police also sent in chemical munitions as the Crisis Negotiation Team tried unsuccessfully to get him to communicate with them.
After unsuccessful attempts of getting Williams to surrender, police sent in a K-9 named Titan, a little before 3 a.m. Williams was then successfully taken into custody without incident. He has now been charged with attempted child abduction and is being held without bond.
Nearby in the Stafford County community, 10-year-old Anya Sheriff heard about the attempted child abduction case and vowed to be more careful when walking alone outdoors. Sheriff told WUSA 9, "I have to, like, walk safely, and I can't cross the street in a part that I shouldn't, and I have to walk where I'm supposed to because this can happen to anyone."
Sheriff and her older brother Mikailu learned about the nine-year-old's attempted abduction from their friend. Mikailu remarked, ""It makes me feel that I should be more aware of my surroundings."
Concerned father Michael Daniels, who also lives near the subdivision where the nine-year-old girl was almost taken away by an abductor, said that his son felt afraid to leave their home. He added that they have been discussing safety measures. Daniels remarked, "It's frustrating because we are in a time where people should be able to trust that the kids can get to the bus stop and not get picked up."
Another concerned parent, Lori Thompson, vowed to educate her children about what to do in case they find themselves in a similar situation but admitted that she did not want the attempted kidnapping incident to make her two kids live in fear. Amanda Cox, a homeschooling mother of three, said her kids spend a lot of time playing outside, which is why they "had to have a conversation about not being scared, but being proactive and just letting the kids know what to look out for."
