Arkansas police rescue 5-year-old girl from hidden compartment inside of a closet while serving a search warrant.
The rescue operation was captured on police body camera, when the Tontitown Police Department responded to the man’s residence on Thursday.
The purpose of their visit to the was to execute a search of the home and assist the state Department of Human Services in taking custody of the young girl.
Upon reaching the man’s residence, an arrest report reveals that the suspect approached the front window, where an officer informed him of a court order to remove the girl from the premises.
Initially, the suspect denied having the child at his home and refused to open the door, but eventually admitted that the girl was indeed inside the residence and permitted the officers to enter.
Kidnapped girl found in hidden compartment
Once they entered the premises, the officers heard noises that were emanating from a bedroom.
The suspect proceeded to enter the bedroom, reportedly dropping to his knees in a nearby closet.
Video footage shows the suspect fiddling with items concealed among the clothing in the small closet.
Eventually, the suspect removed a board that had been nailed to the wall, revealing a small concealed space. It was from this hiding place that the 5-year-old girl emerged.
“She was very emotional when she came out and pretty scared,” recounted Detective Keith Lindley told USA Today about the state of the child. “He had instructed her not to make a sound or reveal she was back there.”
Police describe hidden compartment where the kidnapped girl was found
The report describes the hidden compartment where the child was hidden as “six to eight feet at the widest point going down to maybe two to four feet at the other.”
Despite the distressing ordeal, Lindley confirmed that the girl did not appear to have suffered any physical harm and was subsequently placed into the custody of the Department of Human Services.
It wasn’t the first time the man had encountered the law recently, according to Detective Lindley, who explained, “He was on bond in connection for a methamphetamine charge from our neighbor city to the north.”
The 40-year-old man now faces charges of first-degree child endangerment, false imprisonment, and interference with court-ordered custody in relation to the incident.
Despite committing criminal acts while he was already out on bond, the man only spent the weekend in jail before posting $5,000 to get out of Washington County jail.
Police rescue kidnapped girl in car jacking
In a separate incident, a child who was kidnapped in Pensacola, Florida, has been safely rescued after an intense search.
Video footage captured the emotional moment she was reunited with her family.
According to WEAR, on Monday afternoon, the five-year-old was sitting inside her mother’s Jeep when an unknown individual entered the driver’s seat and drove away.
In response, officials issued an AMBER Alert, a nationwide system designed to help find abducted children.
The suspect was considered armed and was believed to be headed towards Atlanta, Georgia.
The search eventually led Escambia County Sheriff’s Deputies to a local bar where they discovered the stolen Jeep parked. The child was found sitting inside the vehicle.
Police reunite kidnapped girl with family
He described the little girl, identified as Isobel Battese, as talkative and happy upon her rescue.
The child’s mother had briefly left her in the Jeep to quickly run inside their house when the incident took place.
Sheriff Simmons, who drove the child to be reunited with her family, mentioned that she gave him directions to her bus stop and her home.
“Obviously, one of the best car rides I’ve had in my law enforcement career,” he said about the rescue.
