Main: Daniel C. Vasey being arrested in Oregon (Portland Police Bureau). Inset: Vasey at the scene prior to his arrest (KOIN).
A man in Oregon is accused of trying to kidnap a 7-year-old girl visiting Portland with her family, allegedly grabbing her arm and lifting her off the ground during a struggle with the victim”s mother before the father and several bystanders fought him off.
Daniel C. Vasey, who police said was naked throughout the alleged incident, is charged with one count each of first-degree attempted kidnapping, second-degree attempted kidnapping, first-degree custodial interference, third-degree assault and harassment, authorities announced.
According to a news release from the Portland Police Bureau, the incident unfolded Saturday evening near Southwest Naito Parkway. Emergency dispatchers first received reports at about 6:51 p.m. of a naked man running through the area. Four minutes later, another caller reported the man had tried to punch someone in the head.
Officers assigned to the Central Precinct were unavailable because they were handling other calls, including a disturbance involving a gun, prompting dispatchers to send officers from the North Precinct when a third emergency call came in at 7:03 p.m.
That caller reported the man had grabbed a young girl and was pulling her away from her mother.
“Her mother grabbed her other arm and tried to prevent Vasey from taking the 7-year-old,” the release states. “The struggle over the girl was so significant that she was lifted off the ground. The child’s father, mother, and bystanders jumped in, punching, slapping, and pulling on the suspect.”
One bystander also deployed pepper spray to stop him from threatening people.
Officers arrived moments later and found Vasey wading naked in the Willamette River, where police took him into custody.
Paramedics treated the girl at the scene for scratches, but she was not seriously injured and did not require hospitalization, according to the police bureau. Authorities said she and her family were visiting Portland from out of state.
Local CBS affiliate KOIN spoke to a witness who called 911 about what he saw.
“Naked guy had come up and grabbed the little girl, and I heard her screaming, and I saw the mom come up trying to push him off of her and hitting him a couple times,” he told the station. “That must have been really scary for that little girl as well.”
The Oregonian reported that bystanders continued to attack Vasey while officers were still en route, spraying him with pepper spray and striking him until he released the child. The newspaper also reported that a search of Oregon court records did not show any prior criminal convictions for Vasey.
