PORTLAND, Ore. (TCN) — A 31-year-old man has been booked into jail on multiple charges after he allegedly tried to kidnap a 7-year-old girl from a park.
On July 11, a person dialed 911 to report that they had seen a naked man running around near a park, according to a news release from the Portland Police Department. A few minutes later, another person called and said the man tried to punch them. A third caller dialed 911 shortly after this to allege the man tried to grab a girl and pull her away from her mother.
Officers arrived at the park and found the suspect, Daniel C. Vasey, wading naked in the river adjacent to the park. He was arrested at the scene and the victim, a 7-year-old girl, was examined and determined not to be injured, per police.
Investigators learned the girl and her family were visiting from out of state and spending time at the park when Vasey allegedly approached the girl and tried to grab her. The girl’s mother held onto the child’s other arm to prevent her from being taken and in the ensuing struggle, the girl was lifted off the ground. Parents and bystanders hit, punched, and slapped Vasey to get him to let go and according to police, one bystander sprayed him with an irritant; Vasey then allegedly fled.
KOIN spoke to witness Emilio Zamora, one of the first people to dial 911. He said, “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. … And yeah, that must have been really scary for that little girl as well.”
Vasey was jailed and charged with attempted first- and second-degree kidnapping, first-degree custodial interference, third-degree assault, and harassment, according to police.
Oregon Live reports that Vasey does not have any past criminal convictions in Oregon.
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