Washington Siblings Help Stop Younger Brother's Kidnapping
— -- A 22-month-old Washington boy is safe after a kidnapping thanks to the quick thinking reaction of his older brother and sister.
The toddler, Owen Wright, was playing in a park in Sprague, Washington, on Sunday with his older brother, 10-year-old Brenden, and sister, 8-year-old Delicia. The siblings were playing unsupervised in a park next to their babysitter’s home while their father, Michael Wright, was at work, according to local ABC affiliate KXLY.
Surveillance footage from a nearby grocery store shows the suspect running off with Owen in his arms.
As the suspect fled with Owen, the toddler’s siblings began chasing after him.
"This little girl come running around the corner screaming her head off,” witness Dorothy Giddings told KXLY.
Delicia’s screams alerted passersby, including two teenage boys who joined the pursuit.
“I didn’t really care. There was a kid’s life in danger,” said one of the teens, Andrew Crane.
“I don’t consider myself a hero. I consider myself a person doing the right thing,” said another, Isaac Yow.
The suspect eventually abandoned Owen in an empty lot before continuing to flee.
“I told that little girl, I said, 'Honey, you did exactly what you needed to do scream your head off,’” Giddings said of Owen’s sister. “That's what saved that baby. Her screaming and us running.”
The suspect in the alleged kidnapping remains at large. Police in the small community of Sprague, population 500, are asking anyone who recognizes the suspect to contact the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office at 509-725-3501.
The siblings’ father, Michael Wright, says he “can’t explain” what happened after hearing his son had been kidnapped.
“I can't explain the feeling, the anxiety and everything that goes into finding out your children is missing or something has happened to them," Wright told KXLY.
