MAYSVILLE, Ky. — One Maysville woman said she is happy her 7-year-old grandson is safe after a man tried to kidnap him and another young girl at a local park.
“In a matter of seconds, my grandson could have been gone," said Tammy Warner.
Dustin Spaulding, 36, is charged with two counts of kidnapping, one count of escape, one count of criminal mischief and one count of third-degree assault against a police officer after Maysville police said he tried to kidnap children from Rotary Park on Sept. 16.
According to a police report filled out by Maysville police, a 5-year-old girl and her mother ran to a Valero station and called police after Spaulding allegedly tried to take the child. While they waited for officers to arrive, Spaulding followed them to the gas station.
That same day, police got another call that a man tried to take a 7-year-old boy from his mother at the park.
“We got another call that somebody attempted to try and get a child from the Rotary Park. I followed up on that the same night, and found it was the same male that tried to take the girl," said Det. Jeff Hord with the Maysville Police Department.
Hord said he hadn't seen something like this in years.
“It’s unbelievable really — it’s something we don’t deal with a lot in Maysville," he said.
Tammy Warner is the 7-year-old's grandmother. She said the man tried to take her grandson just seconds after he tried to take the little girl.
“They heard the little girl screaming because kids down here, they scream because they don’t want to go home ... I thought she just didn’t want to go home, and then all of sudden this guy comes running up at them. He grabs my grandson by the arm and my daughter-in-law and son are playing tug-of-war with this guy," Warner said.
She noted her grandson now has nightmares.
"He never used to sleep with the light on. He doesn’t want to go to sleep without the light. He was sent home a couple of days from school because he said his chest was hurting. We took him to the doctor and they did X-rays and they said everything is OK. He’s having anxiety issues," she said.
Warner added her grandson is also uneasy.
"He has extreme anxiety right now," Warner said. "My grandson has never ever had anxiety. He’s been high-spirited, he laughs and plays like every other kid and now he clings to my son and daughter-in-law."
Officers detained Spaulding at the gas station, but while they were reading his Miranda warning and attempting to put him into a police cruiser, the report said Spaulding suddenly took off.
“He tried to flee on the officers at first," Hord said. "They had to catch up to him and take him back into custody, and that was while he was handcuffed. Then he was combative the entire time dealing with him. He was trying to lunge at officers, spit on them. They put a spit hood on him and of course shackled him to prevent him from running."
According to police, Spaulding also told officers he'd taken drugs, saw the 5-year-old girl and "decided to try and take her."
Police showed the parents of the 7-year-old pictures taken by the mother of the 5-year-old girl, and they identified the man in the images as the same man who tried to take their son.
Hord said if parents see someone acting suspicious, call the police.
“Just keep an eye on your children especially at parks and in stores," Hord said. "Don’t let them out of your sight. There’s someone somewhere waiting to get the chance to take it."
Warner has the same message.
“I would like for every parent out there to know that this happened in seconds," Warner said. "No matter where you’re at — the grocery store, the park — it’s happening all around us, and you need to keep a close eye on your kids by your side because this isn’t the only place this happened here in Maysville."
Warner said she would like to see cameras installed at Rotary Park, so that if something like this or another crime were to happen it would be caught on video.
Hord said Spaulding will be back in court on Oct. 2 at 11 a.m. He will appear via Zoom, but Warner said she and her family will be in the courtroom.
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