Father in custody, toddler safe after Ypsilanti kidnapping and standoff
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (FOX 2) - The Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office said the father of a 2-year-old girl has been safely taken into custody in Ann Arbor after kidnapping his own child and then holding deputies at bay for several hours.
Deputies said it started around 3:30 Wednesday morning in the 9000 block of Julie Drive in Ypsilanti. According to deputies, the man and another suspect were armed when they forced their inside the home, assaulted those inside, and then took his 2-year-old girl.
Law enforcement responded swiftly, buy the kidnapper had fled the scene, said Derrick Jackson with the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office.
Authorities tracked him to the Victory Inn and Suites, about 10 miles away.
Police blocked the roads and entrances to the hotel as they negotiated with the man. The second person with him was not inside the hotel and has not yet been identified.
Around 9 a.m., deputies said the father surrendered by walking out of the hotel.
The little girl was unharmed and returned to her mother; authorities are still searching for the other suspect.
"It’s not common that you have a kidnapping or a parental kidnapping," Jackson said. "Just the idea that a family situation happens like this and a father grabs their kid at gunpoint, is just pretty significant."
The accused kidnapper is awaiting charges.
The Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office is working to identify the second suspect. Anyone with information is asked to call Crimestoppers at 1-800-Speak-Up.