Kidnapped girl, six, is dramatically rescued in Kansas City after cops pull over elderly captors for speeding
A kidnapped six-year-old girl has been dramatically rescued after cops pulled over her elderly captors for speeding.
Kansas State Highway Patrol said one of their troopers stopped an SUV for a traffic violation in February and got more than he bargained for.
Along with a police deputy, the trooper pulled the vehicle over and discovered two men in their 60s inside, along with a six-year-old girl.
They found the passenger in the front seat had a warrant for his arrest from another state for kidnapping a girl just over a month before.
Officials did not release the name of the men, but said the driver also had a criminal history including a homicide charge and several weapons violations.
The trooper and deputy arrested the men and took the girl to safety in Kansas City, Missouri.
At first, the six-year-old gave them a fake name, something the elderly men had coached her to do.
A kidnapped six-year-old girl has been dramatically rescued after cops pulled over an SUV
Officials did not release the name of the men, but said the driver also had a criminal history including a homicide charge and several weapons violations
But after police put her at ease, she eventually gave them her real name.
They were able to identify her as the victim of a kidnapping which happened more than a month ago.
The kidnappers had been on the run with the child ever since.
Kansas Highway Patrol said the girl was unharmed and the men have been taken into custody.
Police did not give specific details about the identities of anyone involved in the case, or exactly where or when the vehicle was pulled over.
They released an image of the SUV on a rural highway surrounded by grassland.
It comes after a teenage girl narrowly escaped a kidnapping after writing a note and pressing it against the window of an SUV she was being held captive inside, as revealed during a court trial in January.
A teenage girl's handwritten note may have saved her life by leading to her kidnapper's arrest after three days in captivity
A teenage girl's desperate handwritten note may have saved her life by leading to her kidnapper's arrest after three days in captivity. While sitting in her captor's car (pictured) as it was parked in Long Beach, the teenager managed to write 'help me' on a piece of paper
Steven Robert Sablan, 63, of Cleburne, Texas, abducted the 13-year-old girl at gunpoint in San Antonio before driving her to California on July 6, 2023.
An FBI agent said the teen was walking down a street when Sablan drove up, raised a black handgun and said: 'If you don't get in the car with me, I am going to hurt you.'
Prosecutors said he sexually assaulted her several times during the journey in a gray Nissan Sentra until a quick-thinking move by the girl led to his arrest three days later.
While sitting in Sablan's car as it was parked in Long Beach on July 9, the teenager managed to write 'help me' on a piece of paper and held it against the window.
A passerby saw her desperate plea and called police, according to prosecutors. When cops arrived, she mouthed the word 'help' and they rescued her from the car.
At the time of the crime, Sablan had no legal custody or familial relationship to the victim, according to the US Attorney's Office for the Central District of California.
After being held in custody since July 2023, Sablan pleaded guilty in January 2024 to one count of kidnapping.
