'Where's My Daddy?': Watch Ohio Police Rescue Kidnapped 2-Year-Old

March 14, 2024
Body camera footage captured Akron police officers locating a stolen pickup truck and rescuing a 2-year-old boy who had been asleep in the back seat when the vehicle was lifted.

A 2-year-old boy was rescued by Ohio police following an Amber Alert earlier this month, and a 54-year-old man faces kidnapping and abduction charges in the incident.

Body camera footage captured the March 1 rescue by Akron police, WKYC-TV reports. An Amber Alert had been issued shortly after 3 p.m. concerning a pickup truck that was stolen with a sleeping child in the back seat.

Using a license plate reader, police were able to locate the truck and the suspect—identified as Larry Spence, 54—in the city's Kenmore neighborhood. An officer spotted the truck shortly after 3:30 p.m., and the boy was still in the back seat.

"It's OK," an officer is heard telling the boy in bodycam footage. "Here, I'm going to take you out. It's okay. Let's get you out of here."

"Where's my daddy?" the boy asks as officers comforted him and gave him water, food and toys.

"You're a brave boy," an officer tells the child. "We're going to get you home to your daddy. We're going to get you to your parents. We're the good guys."

After recovering the child, police continued searching for Spence. A nearby building was checked out, but the suspect was not inside.

Police finally arrested Spence about a half mile from where officers found the abandoned truck. He was charged with kidnapping, abduction and grand theft of a motor vehicle.

About the Author

Joe Vince

Joining Endeavor Business Media in 2018, Joe has worked on the company's city services publications. He began working at OFFICER.com as the assistant editor. Before starting at Endeavor, Joe had worked for a variety of print and online news outlets, including the Indianapolis Star, the South Bend Tribune, Reddit and Patch.com.

Sponsored Recommendations

Voice your opinion!

To join the conversation, and become an exclusive member of Officer, create an account today!