A seven-year-old boy led Wichita, Kansas, police to his suspected kidnapper mere hours after the man allegedly abducted the boy and his sister.
The suspect reportedly drove up to the boy and his 10-year-old sister Thursday morning during their walk to school and offered them a ride. Both kids accepted the man’s offer, but when they got to the school, he kept the sister, telling the boy, “if you tell anybody, I’m gonna kill you,” the seven-year-old told KAKE News. The man dropped the sister back off at the school a short time later, according to the outlet.
“She was crying when she got out of the car,” the boy added.
The incident happened at around 8:55 a.m. while the kids were on their way to Clark Elementary School, the Wichita Eagle reported.
“The suspect released both children, but not before sexually assaulting the female,” Wichita police stated in a news release, KAKE noted in a later report.
Following the incident, while police were bringing the boy to the hospital for a checkup, he managed to identify the suspect’s blue car with a distinct white steering wheel parked in a restaurant. Police investigated the lead and arrested a 21-year-old suspect, according to the outlet. (RELATED: Tucker Carlson: There Is ‘Tolerance For Pedophilia’ Among Society’s Most Powerful)
In addition to the two kids, the suspect reportedly abducted and sexually assaulted a 13-year-old girl on her way home from Curtis middle school at around 3:50 p.m. on Wednesday before letting her go, KWCH reported.
The 21-year-old suspect is jailed without bond on 16 counts including kidnapping, assault and child sex crimes. https://t.co/qMbDUsBwUS #KAKEnews
— KAKE News (@KAKEnews) January 6, 2023
Police identified the suspect as Manesse’h Ward, according to a Friday arrest report. Wichita law enforcement booked him on 18 charges, including three counts of aggravated kidnapping, two counts of aggregated criminal sodomy of a child under 14, five counts of aggravated indecent liberties for causing a child under 14 to fondle, three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and three counts of criminal threat, according to the report.